Atop two large gas ranges, minty hot pink liquid bubbles inside red tea kettles. Mike Fitzgerald, the owner of Saratoga Sweets, pours the sugar solution into long metal pig molds. The menthol vapors from the molten mixture rise into the large candy kitchen. Making the Peppermint Pig, the dedicated candy makers in Halfmoon preserve a treasured Saratoga Springs tradition.

The pig has represented prosperity and good fortune in Europe since the Middle Ages. On the farm, owning a pig implied a level of wealth and stability required to maintain a seemingly useless farm animal. While no one knows the exact history of the Peppermint Pig that transformed a symbol into a practice, it is known that in the 1880’s, Jim Menges produced the first Peppermint Pig. Menges gave a new use to peppermint, originally an ingredient used solely by the apothecary to mask the foul taste of medicines. The production of the pig continued up to the Second World War. Due to the rationing of sugar, candy makers were forced to stop making the Peppermint Pig. Over time the pig was lost, but the memories of it were not forgotten. It was not until 1986 that the pig reemerged and the seasonal ritual began again.

Something more than a piece of candy, the Peppermint Pig exceeds the medieval symbolism and the Victorian yuletide spirit that it represents. As a blend of the old and the new, the Peppermint Pig signifies much more than history or custom. The practice is to smash the pig after dinner and pass the pieces of candy around. As Mr. Fitzgerald says, “After Christmas dinner or a holiday get-together you put the pig in the pouch, everybody reads a little story, pass it around.

Everyone says something good that happened to them that year… By the time you get done you have bag full of candy and kids laughing, but you also got everybody talking about all the good things that have happened.”

The Peppermint Pig brings cheer and mirth to the people of Saratoga Springs and many others around the world. Though once forgotten the pig has survived the period of its absence, having reemerged as it does every year. The strength of tradition brought the pig back and will continue to keep it alive. The Peppermint Pig represents the bond between the past and the present, but it also provides a metaphor for the unified family. The pig embodies the togetherness central to the holidays.

A catalyst for discussion, a sweet treat, a piece of history, the Peppermint Pig performs many different functions. The pig will remain a valued part of the holidays as it holds memories of former times and brings new ones. There is no need to worry about the future of the pig, as Mr. Fitzgerald says, “As long as there is Christmas, there will always be pigs.” The pig offers the opportunity to remember the good times shared with family and friends. For this, the pig truly succeeds in bringing holiday joy and happiness.