Christmas – Traditional Christmas Pudding - Once Made
with Beer and Only on 'Stir-Up Sunday'!
Copyright 2006 Bernadette Dimitrov
Traditional Christmas pudding has a long and fascinating
history. It is a much loved favorite Christmas sweet for
many countries, in particular England and Ireland.
The once traditional time to make your Christmas pudding
was on the Sunday five weeks prior to Christmas day. It was
known as “Stir-Up Sunday”. This Sunday pudding making day
was looked forward to by all the members of the family and
especially the children. Everyone took it in turns to stir
the pudding as they made a wish.
Christmas pudding is also known as ‘Plum Pudding’ and is
traditionally eaten in Britain and Ireland as a dessert on
Christmas day. Recipes vary from family to family and often
are guarded as they handed down their prized recipes
through the generations.
Christmas pudding generally has a dark appearance and is
often black, thick in texture and full of nuts, raisins and
suet and moistened with brandy while some recipes call for
dark beers such as stout! Today it is common practice to
make Christmas pudding boiled in a cloth. At the beginning
of the 12th century puddings were prepared in basins to
produce the traditional round shape on top that we know
today. Once prepared, holly was placed around the pudding,
it was drenched in more brandy or other alcohol and set
alit as it was delivered to the Christmas table after the
main meal. The entrance of the pudding was a most exciting
event. Everyone would applaud or sing as it was delivered
to the table. Later people added caster sugar sprinkled on
top to resemble snow which is often associated with a
winter Christmas. Astoundingly, is believed that left-over
pudding can keep for up to a year!
Once upon a time a silver coin was placed in the mixture
while stirring and it was commonly a sixpence. Once cooked
and served, whoever found the coin was believed to have
good fortune the following year especially in relation to
wealth and money! The practice of placing coins in the
pudding ceased once the production of ‘silver’ coins
ceased. No-one wanted to risk ruining the pudding with the
new alloy coins. Later various types of trinkets were added
for fun such as a wishbone for good luck! Due to concerns
of health and safety it is not a practice that is commonly
taken up today and for most families this practice of
placing coins has now ceased.
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All About Santa and
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