The Boar's Head

Posted: August 23, 2014
Updated: October 10, 2014

The Festival we know today originated at Queen's College, Oxford, England in 1340. Legend has it that a scholar was studying a book of Aristotle while walking through the forest on his way to Christmas Mass. Suddenly, he was confronted by an angry wild boar. Having no other weapon, the resourceful Oxonian rammed his metal-bound philosophy book down the throat of the charging animal, whereupon the brute choked to death. That night the boar's head, finely dressed and garnished, was borne in procession to the dining room, accompanied by carolers singing "in honor of the King of bliss."

By 1607, an expansive ceremony was in use at St. John's College, Cambridge, England. There, the boar's head was accompanied by "mustard for the eating" and decorated with flags and sprigs of evergreen, bay rosemary and holly. It was carried in state to the strains of the Boar's Head carol, still sung in the Christ Church ceremony.

C.K. Wang, photo

With Boars being in short supply in the forests of Cincinnati, a hog's head is dressed to represent the boar. It is roasted and garnished, but not eaten. Boar's tusks were carved for the first Boar's Head here. The three flags in his head represents the ceremony's British roots, the French Huguenots who brought it to Colonial America and our own nation.

The property crew decorate the Boar's Head.

©2014 Constance Sanders

Many thanks to Suzann Parker Leist for donating the black head for many years. Each year, after a local farm hog is butchered for its meat, the head is deep frozen. It rests in the Cathedral freezer until ready to roast. 

Suzann Parker Leist with the Boar's Head, 2011

The Boar's Head Company
©2010 Constance Sanders 

The Boar's Head Company, about 1958. Frank Pandorf, left 
and Ralph Kendrick, right
Boar's Head photo archive

The Plum Pudding

August 23, 2014

Plum pudding, together with mince pie, are symbols of hospitality and were always on hand to serve guests in medieval times.  Here in the festival, they suggest the fullness of God's gifts to his children.

Susan West,  photo, 2014

Malcolm Dunn (casting as the Poor Man) with the plum pudding, 2006
C.K. Wang, photo

Malcolm Dunn has been the sole baker of the plum pudding since 1996, and his wife, Priscilla, decorates the final product. It’s a year-long process . The preparation starts by soaking candied fruits with brandy in a jar after Christmas until next October when Malcolm gathers the rest of the ingredients and bakes in the first weekend of October. It requires mixing in two batches by hand and bakes in a specially made tin tube pan for 3 hours. When the cake is completely cooled, he wraps it in brandy-soaked cheesecloth and places it in an antique Grace Rush Fruit Cake tin. He stores it in a refrigerator at their daughter's home and "visits" it monthly to re-soak the brandied cheesecloth.

In the morning before the first performance, Malcolm will glaze the entire cake with orange marmalade which has had the rind removed. Priscilla then places blanched almonds which have been coated with marmalade around the outer edge and inner ring. Then pineapple slices are placed around the top of the cake followed by red and green cherries. The cake is then taken to Christ Church Cathedral where the hole is filled with holly etc. and placed on the trencher.

The Plum Pudding Company

As a tradition since Boar’s Head’s beginning here, the plum pudding is cut and shared with the cast and guests following the last performance. The rich, complex flavor is unmatched!