A good Christmas pudding takes time to mature, and many make their pudding long before Christmas Day. In a Christmas tradition begun in the Victorian era (Prince Albert is said to have been a fan), families would gather to stir the pudding and make a wish on a day known as Stir-up Sunday, which takes place on the last Sunday before Advent.
But there’s more to Stir-up Sunday than mixing, which should be stirred from east to west to honour the three wise men and their journey. The name ‘Stir-up Sunday’ itself is not as it first appears – the name is taken from a prayer for the Sunday before Advent, which starts, ‘Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of your faithful people …’.
Traditionally, a Christmas Pudding should contain 13 ingredients, representing Jesus and his disciples. Early puddings would have contained meat and were served with savoury courses, but today combinations of dried fruit, nuts, sugar and perhaps a tot of rum or brandy are much more common.
Some families added a ‘lucky’ sixpence to their mix, and it is said that the person who finds it in their festive pudding will enjoy good fortune in the coming year.
Whether you already get together to stir your homemade pudding or you’d like to start a new tradition this year, our Christmas Pudding recipe, which you can download on this page, is delicious!
