The ubiquitous Serrano ham legs hanging in restaurants and homes across the country are the legacy of public displays of pork-eating — prohibited by Judaism and Islam — by new or pretending Christians hundreds of years ago.
“Those never seen eating pork became suspects of the Inquisition,†says historian Sebastian de la Obra, director of Casa Sefarad, a museum of Sephardic culture and tradition in the Andalusian city of Cordoba.
The Spanish expression “hacer sabado,†or “Saturdaying,†refers to housecleaning and washing by converted Jews, who left windows and doors open to prove they weren’t observing the Sabbath, the Jewish holy day of rest.
Source: Global Post