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.

On the Sunday before advent Anglican congregations across Britain will hear this collect, a short prayer to bring together or “collect” their thoughts on a topic. The matter at hand originally had nothing to do with food preparations for Christmas but by the early twentieth century the faithful took this collect as a sign that they should go forth and stir up their Christmas pudding. So, this is where the term Stir Up Sunday originates and as it happens today is that very day.

I had a chat with my fellow A is for Apple Podcast host Dr Neil Buttery about the origins of this ritual and our enduring love for plum pudding at this time of the year.

Useful Links

You can find Great Aunt Eliza’s Victorian plum pudding recipe here.

Neil has written four books (all of which I can highly recommend) including:

* The Philosophy of Pudding

* Knead to Know

* Before Mrs Beeton: Elizabeth Raffald, England’s Most Influential Housekeeper

* A Dark History of Sugar

Don’t forget to check out Neil’s The British Food History Podcast. You can find Neil on X @neilbuttery and Instagram @dr_neil_buttery

Suggested Reading

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Don’t forget you can follow me on Instagram or X @mrssbilton or find out more about my work on sambilton.com.

A huge thank you to Thomas Ntinas of The Delicious Legacy for doing the sound mixing on this season of the podcast.

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