{{Short description|Lemon decorated to look like a pig}} thumb|A pig made from a lemon with clove eyes, toothpick legs, and a coin in its mouth A '''lemon pig''' is a lemon that has been decorated to take on the appearance of a pig. Construction normally includes matchstick legs, clove or peppercorn eyes and a foil tail. Early lemon pigs appear to have been made as amusements, but from the 1970s onwards they have become associated with good luck and the New Year in the cultures of some English-speaking countries.
==Origin== [[File:The lemon pig completed.png|thumb|Image of a completed lemon pig in seated position, from The Enterprise newspaper, Wellington, Ohio, United States, 1898 ]] The first mention of a lemon pig appears to be as a child's amusement in the book ''The Art of Amusing'' written by journalist Frank Bellew and released in the United States in 1865, although no construction details are given.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Andrew |first=Scottie |date=2020-12-31 |title=Want good luck in the new year? Make yourself a lemon pig |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2020/12/31/us/lemon-pig-new-year-tradition-trnd/index.html |access-date=2025-01-02 |work=CNN |language=en}}</ref> The North American magazine ''Atlas Obscura'' found a lemon pig in a newspaper story in 1882.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Ewbank |first=Anne |date=2018-01-03 |title=Lemon Pigs Are the World’s Newest New Year’s Tradition |url=https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/lemon-pigs-new-year |access-date=2025-01-02 |website=Atlas Obscura |language=en}}</ref> The 1895 book ''How to behave and how to amuse. A handy manual of etiquette and parlor games'' written by George Henry describes the creation of a pig from a lemon among a list of other 'tricks' that may be performed at a dinnertable, alongside such other tricks as a tortoise made from a muscatel raisin. The purpose appears to be merely to amuse.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sandison |first=George Henry |url=https://archive.org/details/howtobehavehowto00sand/page/232/mode/2up?q=%22lemon+pig%22 |title=How to behave and how to amuse. A handy manual of etiquette and parlor games |publisher=The Christian Herald |year=1895 |location=New York |pages=233}}</ref> The same year a novel featured a character promising to make a lemon pig if a child behaves well.<ref>{{Cite book |last=MacNair Wright |first=Julia |url=https://archive.org/details/newsamaritanstor00wrig/page/110/mode/2up?q=%22pig%22 |title=A new Samaritan. The story of an heiress |publisher=American Tract Society |year=1895 |location=New York |quote=You’ll drink some lemonade, wont you, Jenny ? And, if you take a good sleep, to-morrow I will make you a funny pig out of a lemon.}}</ref> In 1902, ''Good Housekeeping'' magazine described the creation of lemon pigs as a novel way of serving a fruit cocktail or iced juice.<ref name=":1" />
More recently, the creation of lemon pigs has become associated with New Year, and with good luck in English-speaking countries.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Geske |first=Dawn |date=2020-12-31 |title=Lemon Pigs Bring Luck In The New Year |url=https://www.ibtimes.com/lemon-pig-could-bring-you-good-luck-2021-how-diy-3112706 |access-date=2025-01-02 |website=International Business Times |language=en-US}}</ref> These associations may have begun after their inclusion in the book ''401 Party and Holiday Ideas'' ''from Alcoa''. The ideas and recipes featured the use of Alcoa aluminium foil, and in this instance the pig had a tail made from twisted foil, and a coin inserted in its mouth. Retro food author Anna Pallai wrote about lemon pigs in a tweet from her account 70s Dinner Party in 2017, and this may have caused a modern resurgence in their popularity.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Riddle |first=Holly |date=2020-12-31 |title=The Strange Origin Of Lemon Pigs |url=https://www.mashed.com/305008/the-strange-origin-of-lemon-pigs/ |access-date=2025-01-02 |website=Mashed |language=en-US}}</ref> Lemon pigs are created at New Year and kept until the end of the year, at which point the coin will be taken and given to a new lemon pig.<ref name=":3" />
The Jimmy Carter Presidential Library, in Georgia, United States, had a lemon pig on display that had been sent to the 19th President of the U.S. Rutherford B. Hayes while in office.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Swanner |first=Rebecca |date=2023-01-02 |title=What Is the Deal with the Lemon Pig? |url=https://www.pagangrimoire.com/lemon-pig-how-to-make-one/ |access-date=2025-01-02 |website=The Pagan Grimoire |language=en-US}}</ref> That pig is still in the collection of the Hayes Presidential Center.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Hayes Historical Journal: Artifacts at the Hayes Presidential Center |url=https://www.rbhayes.org/research/hayes-historical-journal-artifacts-at-the-hayes-presidential-center/ |access-date=2025-01-02 |website=Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library & Museums |language=en}}</ref> Chef Jacques Pépin has included lemon pigs in two of his recipe books.<ref name=":1" />
==Construction== Construction of a lemon pig requires slicing a lemon to create ears and a mouth, and the insertion of four matchsticks for legs. Eyes may be made from cloves, peppercorns, or grapeseeds. A tail of twisted, curled foil or parsley may be added, although the pig sent to President Hayes had a tail made of twine.<ref name=":2" /> A coin may be inserted in the mouth.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-12-20 |title=Why Everyone Needs to Make a "Lemon Pig" on New Year's Eve |url=https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/holidays/a63214300/you-need-to-make-lemon-pigs-for-nye/ |access-date=2025-01-02 |website=Good Housekeeping |language=en-US}}</ref>
==See also== *Marzipan pig
==References== {{reflist}}
== External links == {{Commons category}} * ''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apsIU58Tu9Y Jacques Pépin Makes a Lemon Pig]'', Bon Appétit, 20 February 2016, video via YouTube
Category:Crafts Category:New Year celebrations Category:Superstitions Category:Pigs in art Category:Lucky symbols