July 19 - Flitch Day
What the hell is Flitch Day you’re wondering…
A flitch is measurement of bacon, equaling half a pig. However, this holiday does not celebrate making a pig of yourself.
Flitch Day is an old custom, originating in Essex, England. Once a year, a flitch or slab of bacon was given to any married couple who could prove they had “not wished themselves unwed.”
To offer their proof, a couple went before a mock court. In this court was a jury of bachelors and maidens, to which the the married couple would try to prove that they had lived in harmony and fidelity for the past year.
If they succeeded in convincing the jury, the couple was awarded a flitch of bacon from the local monks. Not surprisingly, it is said that very few “took home the bacon.”
I wonder how many American couples would be able to prove to a bunch of singles that their last year was filled with harmony and fidelity? Now that would be an interesting “Court TV” show, wouldn’t it?