In the rural farming community of New Zion, South Carolina, the Christmas time roasting of a hog for barbecue is an annual cooking event rooted in the southern Black food tradition. However, for African American men where I grew up in New Zion, the barbecue pit represents more than a place for cooking a hog, but it is also a site for fellowship among men with a shared history.
Hog barbecue is a popular Christmas holiday delicacy in New Zion celebrated among families for generations. The barbecue is served as the main entrée with the breakfast and dinner meals or it is prepared as a sandwich for a quick snack or lunch. Extra portions of barbecue is often shared with family and friends in a show of Christmas hospitality. But the long, slow process of cooking the hog for barbecue is a gendered social event that is as much a part of the holiday season as the Christmas tree.
On the night the hog roast, men gather around the barbecue pit, bundled up in their heavy coats, hats and gloves in preparation for the long, cold night. As the meat slowly cooks over the glowing embers, men share stories from their past and tell jokes to pass the time away. In these conversations, the truth can sometimes get lost in the many characterizations and explanations but the lively discussion is filled with many interesting plots and twists. It is not uncommon for those in attendance to engage in a spirited debate of local politics where differences in opinions are respected even in disagreements. Under the stars of the barbecue pit, men can dare to reimagine the world as one might wish it could be rather than what it is. In this environment, the barbecue pit is more than a place for cooking a Christmas delicacy; it is also a safe place where a brotherhood of men can laugh, argue, joke, tell stories and still feel respected with a dignified presence.
As the dawn begins to brighten the morning skies and the dew settles upon the New Zion soil, the cooked hogs are hoisted from the fire pit ready for final preparations. The sleepy-eyed men covered with the smell of firewood, gather their barbecue in anticipation of the Christmas celebration with the added memory of a night spent under the stars in a brotherhood contemplating life and a world that is yet come.