Why Do We Eat Ham On Easter?

The Best Meat Around

This past Thanksgiving, I deep-fried my family’s turkey with Dad by my side. And for the record, I can proudly say I did about 95% of the work this time around! Within a couple of hours after lifting that perfectly browned bird out of the boiling oil, we were all gathered around the table enjoying the fruits of our labor. I was proud—and honestly thankful—that Dad had taught me well.

But as good as Dad is with a deep fryer, his real culinary superpower is his smoker. The man can turn a brisket into a heavenly experience for your taste buds. With a patriarch who has mastered smoked meats, it’s no surprise that BBQ has become the centerpiece of countless family gatherings. Even smoked ham has been the main course at Christmastime and Easter.

And I know our family isn’t the only one. A 2025 promotional release from The Honey Baked Ham Company claims that “more than 80% of U.S. households” include ham on their Easter menu.[1] Whether the real number is that high or not, it’s clear that ham has become an Easter tradition for a huge number of American families.

Now, I’m certainly not complaining—I enjoy a good Easter ham as much as anyone. But have you ever paused long enough to ask a simple question:

Why ham? Why is pork such a widespread Easter staple?

That question matters more than you might think—especially when you consider the claims taught by popular online teachers like Jim Staley and Truthunedited, who argue that Easter ham comes from a pagan revenge ritual associated with the mythological figure Tammuz.

So let’s examine the claim—and then look at what history actually shows.

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The Claim: “We eat ham for Easter because Semiramis ordered boars to be killed to avenge Tammuz.”

Jim Staley and Truthunedited repeat versions of an argument found in Alexander Hislop’s The Two Babylons (1858), a book rejected by modern historians for its fabricated connections, lack of reliable citations, and false assumptions about ancient religions.[2] Their argument goes something like this:

1. A wild boar killed Tammuz (a Mesopotamian figure).
2. His mother/wife, Semiramis, ordered followers to kill a boar each year in revenge.
3. This yearly “boar sacrifice” supposedly evolved into Christians eating ham at Easter.

It’s a memorable story—but there are significant historical and scholarly problems:

1. No ancient Babylonian source records this ritual.

There is no primary text from Sumer, Akkad, Babylon, or Assyria describing Semiramis ordering annual boar sacrifices in Tammuz’s honor.[3]

2. The Tammuz myth is Near Eastern—not European—and has no pork connection.

Where Tammuz worship existed, rituals involved mourning, vegetation cycles, or fertility rites—not pork consumption.[4]

3. Jews and early Christians avoided pork, making the adoption of a pagan pork ritual virtually impossible.

Pork was forbidden in Jewish law (Lev. 11:7), and early believers debated food offered to idols (Acts 15; Rom. 14; 1 Cor. 8–10). No historical Christian group adopted pork to imitate pagan ritual.

4. The supposed pagan link is historically impossible.

The Mesopotamian myth (3000–500 BC) and the European Easter ham tradition (c. AD 1200–1800) are separated by 2,000+ years and thousands of miles.

In other words:
The pagan-revenge theory isn’t supported by archaeology, ancient texts, anthropology, or church history—and it isn’t why ham appears on Easter tables.

So, where did Easter ham actually come from?

As it turns out, the real story is much simpler—and much more interesting.

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The Real Reasons Ham Became an Easter Staple

1. Ham was the meat that was ready in the spring.

Before refrigeration, food preservation followed the agricultural cycle. In most of Europe:

• Pigs were slaughtered in late fall (typically November), when cooler temperatures made butchering safer.[5]
• The meat was salted, smoked, or cured throughout winter.
• By March or April, the hams had finished curing and were at peak flavor.

And what holiday always falls in March or April?

Easter.

Food historian Jane Ziegelman explains:

“The timing of pig slaughter in autumn meant that cured hams were ready precisely at Easter.”[6]

In other words:

Ham became an Easter tradition because ham happened to be done curing at Easter.

Nothing spiritual. Nothing conspiratorial. Just the natural rhythm of life before refrigeration.

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2. Easter followed the Lenten fast—so the feast called for the best available meat.

For over 1,500 years, Western Christians practiced Lent, 40 days of fasting, during which:

• Meat was restricted,
• Dairy and eggs were often limited,
• Meals were simple.[7]

Easter—celebrating the Resurrection—broke that fast.

And waiting in the smokehouse?

Ham.
Fatty, flavorful, celebratory, and ready at just the right moment.

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3. Pork symbolized abundance and celebration in European culture.

In medieval households:

• A pig was a family’s most valuable animal.[8]
• Pork fat was essential for cooking.
• Ham was expensive and saved for special occasions.

Therefore, serving ham signaled wealth, joy, and holiday celebration—not pagan worship.

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4. Northern European traditions shaped American Easter menus.

American Easter food traditions came primarily from:

• English Anglicans
• German Lutherans
• Scandinavian immigrants

All of whom had long-standing traditions of eating ham at major spring feasts. When these groups migrated to America, they brought their food customs with them.

That’s why:

American Easter menus look like Northern Europe, not ancient Babylon.

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5. Lamb was symbolic—but impractical for most families.

While lamb aligns with biblical Passover imagery, it wasn’t commonly eaten in Europe because:

• Sheep populations were smaller
• Spring lambs weren’t old enough to butcher
• Lamb was expensive

Ham was simply the more affordable, abundant, and ready option.

And practicality—not paganism—shapes most holiday menus.

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So, Why Do We Eat Ham at Easter?

Not because:

❌ Tammuz was killed by a boar
❌ Semiramis demanded revenge sacrifices
❌ Christians adopted pagan rituals

But because:

✔ Hams finished curing in early spring
✔ Easter ended the Lenten fast
✔ Pork symbolized abundance and feasting
✔ European tradition shaped American culture
✔ Lamb wasn’t widely available or affordable

Ham is an Easter staple because of agricultural timing and Christian feasting—not pagan mythology.

So go ahead—enjoy your Easter ham with zero guilt and complete gratitude.

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Footnotes & Sources

[1] The Honey Baked Ham Company, “Easter 2025 Press Release,” Atlanta, GA (2025).
[2] Ralph Woodrow, The Babylon Connection? (Riverside, CA: Ralph Woodrow Evangelistic Association, 1997), 7–15.
 —Woodrow, once a defender of Hislop, later recanted after discovering Hislop’s claims lacked historical evidence.
[3] Stephanie Dalley, Myths From Mesopotamia: Creation, the Flood, Gilgamesh, and Others (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008), 155–164.
[4] Tikva Frymer-Kensky, In the Wake of the Goddesses (New York: Fawcett Columbine, 1992), 62–75.
[5] Massimo Montanari, Medieval Tastes: Food, Cooking, and the Table (New York: Columbia University Press, 2015), 44–49.
[6] Jane Ziegelman & Andrew Coe, A Square Meal: A Culinary History of the Great Depression (New York: Harper, 2016), 27.
[7] Caroline Walker Bynum, Holy Feast and Holy Fast (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1988), 35–58.
[8] Ken Albala, Food in Early Modern Europe (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2003), 61–66.