I'm reading the Outlander books by Diane Gabaldon just now - I think I'm on number 7. It mentions a tradition in Jamie's family of saying thank you to the animal that they kill to eat before butchering it. I wondered if any of my smallholder friends did that. I think it says it's a Highlands tradition. I'd never heard of it before.
We do. It's one of the reasons we do name all our animals, whether they are destined for the table or not (most are not, just sheep which don't make the breeding grade). By naming them, we show our respect for the animal which has given (not exactly voluntarily of course) its life, and we can express our thanks to it by name. More, we do not sell meat to people who just want 'meat', only those who will also respect our sheep and understand that they were living, happy creatures. Incidentally, we are not religious or happy-clappy or pagans or any other type of label, just ordinary country folk who appreciate the bounty of our farm and our world.
I first heard of the idea as a native North American principal. Perhaps Diana Gabaldon, being from America, adapted the idea for her books from the native Indian way.
Topic: Happy Christmas (Read 2473 times)
