There's nothing like eating the head of your enemy to make you feel triumphant as a species. The wild boar has always been a menace to humans, and so has graced the plates of Roman feasts and medieval banquets. It was during Christian times that the boar's head was first presented at Christmas to symbolise the triumph of good over evil.

Surprisingly, in England today a pig's head is still eaten as part of a special Christmas dinner ritual. This ritual even has its own Christmas song that dates back to 1521. The Boar's Head Christmas Carol is sung as a procession leads a pig's head on a platter into the dinning halls of many colleges, schools and universities throughout England (and now America). See the full list here. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boar%27s_Head_Carol

The first college to start the boar's head procession was Queen's College in Oxford, England. The college librarian, William Henry Husk, wrote about the legend behind eating a pig's head in 1868 -

Where an amusing tradition formerly current in Oxford concerning the boar's head custom, which represented that usage as a commemoration of an act of valour performed by a student of the college, who, while walking in the neighbouring forest of Shotover and reading Aristotle, was suddenly attacked by a wild boar. The furious beast came open-mouthed upon the youth, who, however, very courageously, and with a happy presence of mind, thrust the volume he was reading down the boar's throat, crying, "Græcum est," and fairly choked the savage with the sage.

Here are the words to the Boars head Carol:

The boar's head in hand bring I,
Bedeck'd with bays and rosemary.
I pray you, my masters, be merry
Quot estis in convivio (Translation: As many as are in the feast)

CHORUS
Caput apri defero (Translation: The boar's head I offer)
Reddens laudes Domino (Translation: Giving praises to the Lord)

The boar's head, as I understand,
Is the rarest dish in all this land,
Which thus bedeck'd with a gay garland
Let us servire cantico. (Translation: Let us serve with a song)

CHORUS

Our steward hath provided this
In honour of the King of Bliss;
Which, on this day to be served is
In Reginensi atrio. (Translation: In the Queen's hall)

CHORUS

Other traditional foods eaten at English Christmas feasts include oysters, brawn, stewed broth of mutton, roast beef, capons, venison, partridge, minced meat pies, mutton with anchovy sauce, swan, venison in pastry, baby lamb, steak pies, roasted venison, roast turkey, chickens in pastry, and geese.

View a Boars head procession here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEnowF_JsVQ
More information about the Boar's head carol can be found from here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boar%27s_Head_Carol
And about the Boar's head feast from here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boar%27s_Head_Feast
If you want to know more about Old English Christmas dinner menus look here http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/686755/a_christmas_dinner_menu_in_jolly_old.html

To receive Christmas surprises daily - connect to the Fusion Christmas blog via RSS feed, or follow us during our Christmas twitter.