What is Stir up Sunday?

The most exciting food history often originates in peasant kitchens. Written history tells us that the earliest Christmas puddings were found in the 1300s. Mutton, spice and dried fruit were boiled to goulash-type consistency. The result was a thick, grainy, frumenty dish that represented the physical stirring up of the body. Since prunes were often the fruit of choice, the pudding also stirred up the bowels.

spiced ginger beer fruit cake 1980

Spiced ginger beer fruit cake

On Stir up Sunday, home cooks spent the day reading from the Book of Common Prayer, asking the Lord to “stir up the wills of thy faithful people”. They marked the transition into Advent with the physical act of making a pudding. In later Victorian times, the day became entangled with a new beautiful custom where each family member could stir the pudding and imbue their wishes for the new year. Not only was this custom an exercise in strengthening familial bonds, but it was also a way to share the load. Stirring the pudding mixture was hard work for just one person.

Christmas Pudding

As a child, I was able to partake in this tradition, waiting patiently behind a long line of small cousins to stir the pudding and make a special wish for the year ahead. The pud would be stirred from east to west, symbolising the journey of the three wise men visiting Jesus. Before long, it was time to perform everybody’s favourite part: adding coins! Finding a coin in your fruit cake was considered good luck. In my family, the keen eyes of small cousins watched where the coins fell, mentally noting their location in the pud to safeguard a year of good luck.

1980 Gluten-free christmas pudding

Today in our modern world, these traditions are fading away. Most Christmas cakes are store-bought and made without symbolism or custom. But you can bring these customs back. If you have the chance this weekend, gather the family around on Sunday and make the pudding (or fruit cake) together. You’ll each have an opportunity to stir the pudding and create a beautiful new food custom that will hold all your wishes for 2023.

Mini spiced Christmas puddings