The animal served in the title of the “Boar’s Head Carol” is a boar. The carol describes a boar’s head being carried in procession and presented as the centerpiece of a Yuletide feast.
It is a macaronic English Christmas carol, meaning its text combines more than one language. The version most commonly performed today is based on a form published in 1521 by Wynkyn de Worde in Christmasse Carolles, although the song itself belongs to an older tradition.
The carol reflects the historic Boar’s Head Feast, a ceremonial Christmas celebration associated with colleges and churches. Some modern processions use a model or papier-mâché head rather than an actual one. A common mix-up comes from alternative poultry versions, in which “the boar’s head” is replaced by a fowl or other bird; those variants do not change the title or standard answer.