If you hadn't heard, today is Mikulás-nap - St. Nicolas Day - the day on which Hungarians traditionally exchange gifts, in the process baffling Americans and others who are more accustomed to swapping trinkets in the last week of the month. It also sits in the middle of the traditional period for disznóvágás ("pig cutting") - during which countless pigs across the land are slain, leading to festive disznótorok (pig killing parties) where pálinka-addled peasants and the occasional horrified city-slicker work together to turn the still-warm carcass of the "special guest" into disznótoros (combo plates of liver, blood and spicy sausage) and other porkey delights. It's a grand old time for everyone - except all those levágott disznók, including the monster pictured above.

According to a brief on fn.hu, the enormous porker you see is Hungary's largest pig. Raised by one Imre Szpisják from Kenderes (Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok County), the six-year-old castrated male is 2.2 meters long, 1.2 meters tall and weighs 560 kilograms.

Or maybe we should say it was Hungary's largest pig, as Szpisják was also quoted in the piece saying that his prize pig was scheduled to meet its end today. In fact, since most disznótorok get rolling at the crack of dawn, by now much of it may already be sitting in the bellies of Szpisják and a few hundred of his closest friends.