Maryland End (forgotten English calendar)

Apparently, according to my calendar, the thick end of the ham is the Virginia end, and the hock end is the Maryland end, based on the shapes of the states and their respective cuts of piggy.

The info comes up because (again according to the calendar), it is Sow Day, because "on or about this day from at least Saxon times, boars and, later, domesitcated pigs were slaughtered for the Yuletide festivities, a custom that continued into modern times. This date also coincides with the Roman feast of Saturnalia, a weeklong period of merriment and debauchery in which public business was suspended, gifts were exchanged, cross-dressing was common, and servants and master reversed their roles."

So maybe gift giving is cross-cultural for this time of year, not just related to God giving his son, or three kings giving their riches to a baby.