The Sunday before the
first in Advent is known as Stir-Up Sunday.
This is because it embraces the British tradition of making the
Christmas Pudding and was introduced, apparently, by Prince
Albert, husband of Queen Victoria.
It was a time when families got together to make the
pudding and where children learnt from their parents and grandparents what goes
into the Christmas dessert. Most of us now tend to buy our Christmas puddings
and will never experience the fun of stirring the pudding and popping in the
odd coin which will be found on Christmas day, bringing health, wealth and
happiness to the family for the coming year.
The term comes from the collect for the day in the Book
of Common Prayer of 1549 and used on the last Sunday before Advent in the
Anglican Church:
Stir up, we
beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people; that they, plenteously
bringing forth the fruit of good works, may of thee be plenteously rewarded;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
.Excita,
quaesumus, Domine, tuorum fidelium voluntates: ut divini operis fructum
propensius exsequentes, pietatis tuae remedia maiora percipiant: Per Christum
Dominum nostrum. Amen.
It was thought that
cooks, wives and servants would go to Church, hear the words ‘stir up’ and know
that it was the day for making and stirring the Christmas puddings in plenty of
time for Christmas Day. (The prayer was actually stirring up the people to do good deeds.)
A traditional Christmas
pudding has thirteen ingredients to represent Jesus and his disciples. When
family members take a turn in stirring, they should stir from east to west to
remind them of the wise men who visited the child Jesus and brought him gifts.
It is also customary to make a wish when it’s your turn to stir.
Here’s a traditional recipe for a Christmas pudding for
either 4-1pint puddings or 2- 2pint puddings
Ingredients:
1 8oz golden caster sugar
2 8oz suet or margarine
1 8oz golden caster sugar
2 8oz suet or margarine
3 2lbs 4oz mixed fruit
4 8oz plain flour
5 2oz flaked almonds
6 Zest of 1 lemon
7 5 beaten eggs
4 8oz plain flour
5 2oz flaked almonds
6 Zest of 1 lemon
7 5 beaten eggs
8 A
small cooking apple, peeled and chopped
9 1 level teaspoon ground cinnamon
10 1level teaspoon mixed spice
9 1 level teaspoon ground cinnamon
10 1level teaspoon mixed spice
11 1
level teaspoon nutmeg
12 Pinch of salt
13 5fl oz brandy or rum
12 Pinch of salt
13 5fl oz brandy or rum
Mix together all the dry ingredients.
Stir in the eggs and brandy and mix together, with
everyone taking a turn to stir the pudding.
Put the mixture into 4x1pint pudding basins or or
2x2 pint basins which have been greased well.
Cut a circle of baking parchment for the top of
each and wrap foil over the basins.
Tie securely with string.
Make a string handle from one side of the basin to
the other so it's easier to pick the basin out of the pan after cooking.
Put the basins in to a large steamer or, if you don’t
have a steamer, use a large pan and put inverted saucers into it to stand the
basins on.
Pour in boiling water, about a third of the way up
the basins, then put the lid on and steam away. This will take about 5-6 hours
and you will need to keep checking the water and replacing it so that the pans
doesn’t boil dry.
When cooked, store somewhere cool until you need
them.
You will need to steam them again for another 2
hours before serving , or, you could cheat and pop them in the microwave for a
few minutes.
To find our more Christmas and Advent facts, plus lots of recipes, why not treat yourself to The Advent Recipe Book - available from Amazon. Click here to see inside
© Karen Ette 2013
To find our more Christmas and Advent facts, plus lots of recipes, why not treat yourself to The Advent Recipe Book - available from Amazon. Click here to see inside
© Karen Ette 2013
