Stir up Sunday
In England the last Sunday before Advent has the traditional name of Stir up Sunday.
The Victorians took a phrase from the collect of the day ...' Stir up we beseech thee Lord, the wills of thy faithful people'.......and a tradition was born. It became the day on which families gathered together to prepare their Christmas puddings.
When my three children were little we had a fun day when all ingredients were gathered, little aprons found, tall stools squeezed round the kitchen table and off we went.It took a long time to do all the little bits, chopping up nuts, squeezing lemons and oranges, weighing and measuring...and a bit of tasting now and then!
Of course, the most important thing was to make a wish as you stirred the pudding, and didnt tell anyone what you wished for.
How delicious it all smelt as it was stirred together. Then packed into bowls and steamed for several hours, scenting the whole house with Christmas.
I don't know if many people do this now. Marks and Spencers does make a very good pudding. But our way created so many memories.
15 comments:
That is a great family memory, I can imagine the delicious scents. Maybe your children will carry on this grand tradition with their families.
What a lovely memory. I hope you made a pudding today and remembered past Stir it up days.
God bless.
Stir up Sunday sounds like a delightful tradition. Advent is just around the corner!!
I must admit to never having made a Christmas pudding! My mother used to make several and I used to make a couple of cakes and we exchanged with each other. None of my family likes Christmas pudding much and so we never had Christmas pudding after my mother died! It's a lovely tradition though.
What a lovely tradition! We don't have it here, but it sounds marvelous. I bet your homemade pudding tastes good. The few I ate were not ... and I didn't really liked to eat them, to be honest. Time for some Advent preparations this week. Time flies!!!
Love and have a good week, Carolien
I used to make my own and they were really delicious but quite expensive to make as you can buy really good ready made ones. My mother in law used to queue up outside Harrods every year without fail (she was often on tv doing so!) she never camped out overnight, just seemed to float in with the first 30 or so people and went straight to get her Christmas pudding for the following Christmas! it became a family thing to watch out for her on the news when they mentioned the sale and showed Harrods!
That sounds like a very sweet tradition! You're right about the memory-building . . . that's the sweetest part!
Beautiful way to celebrate.
Mother's fruitcake making was a treat, took muscles to stir and the ability to stay upright opening the container after soaked in brandy.
I've just recently learned of this tradition. What a lovely way to start the season.
My three have been stirred and steamed and are all ready for the big day.
Oh my, that sounds wonderful! What a lovely tradition and memory..Thanks so much for sharing.
Blessings, Linda
That's a really lovely memory! ❤ I don't make one as my Husband does not care for it etc but I have a friend who does and I saw various English Instagramers who do also ❤
I know of two bloggers who stirred it up! :) Love this tradition.
What a lovely tradition. Christmas pudding is not something that we had for Christmas, and I confess to not being fond of it at all! But I did make Christmas cake for my husband and children.
Barbara, I've not heard of this before. What a lovely idea!
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