Un Cinese abitante brucia un pezzo di pelle da un suino macellato nel fuoco per il suo odore appetitoso in cucina a casa in preparazione per la prossima
A Chinese villager burns a piece of skin from a butchered pig in fire for its appetizing smell in the kitchen at home in preparation for the upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, in Wulong county, Chongqing, China, 20 January 2016. Butchering pigs and eating pork is one of the time-honored traditions in rural areas in China to celebrate the Spring Festival. The 26th day of the last month in the Chinese lunar calendar is a big day for meat lovers. This is the day to butcher pigs, to cut meat and to make an important stewed pork dish. In the old days, families were usually poor and couldn't afford to eat meat all year round. Many saved what little money and meat they had for the most important days of the whole year, Spring Festival. As a result, meat became a popular food for Chinese New Year and this tradition hasn't faded at all. Today, people eat meat all year round, but it doesn't stop them from eating it during Spring Festival, too! Some call this tradition "butchering pigs", which refers to those farmers who possess livestock to eat, while others call it "cutting meat", which applies for those who can only buy meat at the market. In olden days, the weight of meat people could afford was determined by the harvest that year. The better the harvest, the more meat they could afford to buy, and the prouder they would be. The delicious smell of stewed meat wafted through the alleys. Though people would not buy a large amount of meat, they might cook it into a very large meal. Kids and adults who labored in the fields were allowed to have some meat before Spring Festival day just to satisfy their craving for the then-scarce food. The rest of dish would be saved for the meal on Spring Festival Eve.
