The History of Christmas Pudding | HISTORY (2024)

In America, Christmas Pudding (also known as plum pudding or figgy pudding) is a dish as famous as it is misunderstood. It’s the flaming center of the climactic meal of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, and pops up in carols themselves: “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” has two whole verses about demanding figgy pudding. But for the uninitiated, Christmas puddings are eyed with skepticism befitting a dish that can be accurately described as a cross between a fruitcake and a haggis, set on fire.

Christmas pudding has its roots in medieval English sausages, when fat, spices and fruits (the best preservatives of their day) were mixed with meats, grains and vegetables and packed into animal stomachs and intestines so they would keep as long as possible. The first records of plum puddings date to the early 15th century, when “plum pottage,” a savory concoction heavy on the meat and root vegetables, was served at the start of a meal.

Then as now, the “plum” in plum pudding was a generic term for any dried fruit—most commonly raisins and currants, with prunes and other dried, preserved or candied fruit added when available. By the end of the 16th century, dried fruit was more plentiful in England and plum pudding made the shift from savory to sweet. The development of the pudding cloth—a floured piece of fabric that could hold and preserve a pudding of any size—further freed the pudding from dependence on animal products (but not entirely: suet, the fat found around beef and mutton kidneys, has always been a key ingredient).

By the mid-1600s, plum pudding was sufficiently associated with Christmas that when Oliver Cromwell came to power in 1647 he had it banned, along with Yule logs, carol-singing and nativity scenes. To Cromwell and his Puritan associates, such merry-making smacked of Druidic paganism and Roman Catholic idolatry. In 1660 the Puritans were deposed and Christmas pudding, along with the English monarchy, was restored. Fifty years later, England’s first German-born ruler, George I, was styled the “pudding king” after rumors surfaced of his request to serve plum pudding at his first English Christmas banquet.

As with many English-derived Christmas traditions, the standard form for Christmas pudding solidified during the Victorian era, when English journalists, political leaders and novelists (not least Dickens himself) worked to promulgate a standardized, family-friendly English Christmas. Among England’s poor, Christmas saving clubs sprung up to help housewives lay away pennies throughout the year to purchase pudding ingredients come Christmastime.

Families throughout England began to celebrate the last Sunday before Advent—in which the Book of Common Prayer’s liturgy includes a prayer that begins, “Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people”—as “Stir-up Sunday,” in which family members take turns stirring up the Christmas pudding-to-be, which was then wrapped and boiled and set aside to mature until Christmas Day. By the 19th century the ingredients were more or less standardized to suet, brown sugar, raisins and currents, candied orange peel, eggs, breadcrumbs, nutmeg, cloves, allspice and plenty of alcohol.

For Victorian citizens of the British Empire, the Christmas pudding was a summation of their conception of the world: a globelike mass, studded with savory bits from distant colonies, bound together by a steamed and settled matrix of Englishness. An 1848 satirical cartoon titled “John Bull Showing the Foreign Powers How to Make a Constitutional Plum-Pudding” showed an English stand-in preparing to carve a bulging, holly-sprigged pudding labeled “Liberty of the Press,” “Trial by Jury,” “Common Sense” and “Order.” The Christmas pudding’s well-preserved nature—it took a month to get seasoned and could last over a year—meant it could be enjoyed as a taste of home by far-flung soldiers and colonizers. In 1885 a British newspaper reported the joyful consumption of a plum pudding—sent overland via special envoy from Tehran—by a group of British soldiers stationed in northwestern Afghanistan.

Over the past century the Christmas pudding has slimmed down and simplified somewhat, according to modern tastes. The pudding-bag, in which the pudding is twice-boiled, is often replaced with molds shaped like a half-melon or bundt cake. Instructions for lighting the brandy sauce prior to serving include numerous fire-safety caveats. The pudding’s pagan roots are now celebrated rather than swept under the Christmas-tree skirt. A recent history cheerfully notes that the game of “snap dragons,” in which children compete to pluck raisins from the flaming brandy, likely has origins with the Celtic Druids. Across the Atlantic, where fruitcake’s own fortunes have waned in recent decades, Christmas pudding remains a curiosity known primarily from films, books and song lyrics, and is associated with Christmas crackers, paper crowns, Bob Cratchit and Boxing Day.

The History of Christmas Pudding | HISTORY (2024)

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The History of Christmas Pudding | HISTORY? ›

Christmas pudding

Christmas pudding
Christmas pudding is sweet, dried-fruit pudding traditionally served as part of Christmas dinner in Britain and other countries to which the tradition has been exported.
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Christmas_pudding
has its roots in medieval English sausages, when fat, spices and fruits (the best preservatives of their day) were mixed with meats, grains and vegetables and packed into animal stomachs and intestines so they would keep as long as possible.

What is the history of the traditional Christmas pudding? ›

The Christmas pudding originated in the 14th-century as a sort of porridge, originally known as “frumenty”, which bears little resemblance to the dessert we know today. It was originally made with hulled wheat, boiled in milk, seasoned with cinnamon and coloured with saffron.

What is the item hidden in Christmas pudding? ›

For a long time it's been common practice to include silver Christmas pudding coins, charms or tokens into Christmas pudding. Finding a Christmas coin in your slice of pudding is believed to bring good luck and especially wealth in the coming year.

What is the quote about Christmas pudding? ›

“If I could work my will," said Scrooge indignantly, "every idiot who goes about with 'Merry Christmas' upon his lips should be boiled with his own pudding, and buried with a stake of holly through his heart. He should!”

What is the story of Christmas pudding? ›

It's said that Christmas pudding needs to be prepared with 13 ingredients to represent Jesus and his twelve disciples. Every family member stirs it in turn from east to west to honour their journey. Historically, Christmas pudding wasn't even considered to be a dessert.

What is Christmas pudding called in the USA? ›

In America, Christmas Pudding (also known as plum pudding or figgy pudding) is a dish as famous as it is misunderstood.

Why do they put coins in Christmas pudding? ›

A silver sixpence was placed into the pudding mix and every member of the household gave the mix a stir. Whoever found the sixpence in their own piece of the pudding on Christmas Day would see it as a sign that they would enjoy wealth and good luck in the year to come.

What is a fun fact about Christmas pudding? ›

It is believed that a Christmas pudding must contain thirteen ingredients. These ingredients each represent Jesus and each of his twelve disciples. Traditionally, brandy is poured over the Christmas pudding and set aflame before serving. The flames are believed to represent Christ's passion.

What is the superstition about Christmas pudding? ›

Superstitions say that Christmas pudding must be prepared with 13 ingredients, which are said to represent Jesus and his twelve disciples. It is also said that the mixture should be stirred in turn from east to west, by each family member, to honour the disciples' journey.

What is the bachelor's button on Christmas pudding? ›

You might also get other items (sometimes called 'tokens' or 'favours') placed in the Christmas Pudding which also meant to have special meanings: Bachelor's Button: If a single man found it, they would be stay single for the following year.

Why is Christmas pudding black? ›

The pudding is very dark, almost black in appearance due to the dark sugars and black treacle in most recipes, and its long cooking time. The mixture can be moistened with the juice of citrus fruits, brandy and other alcohol (some recipes call for dark beers such as mild, stout or porter).

Why is Christmas pudding important to Christians? ›

The pudding was meant to have 13 ingredients to represent Jesus and his 12 disciples. Often small trinkets were hidden in the mixture (a silver coin for wealth, a ring for future marriage and a thimble for spinsterhood!). The brandy poured over it and set alight represented the passion of Christ.

What does a Christmas pudding charm mean? ›

Horseshoe or Wishbone: it is believed the finder will have good luck for the coming year. Silver thimble: thrift – the finder will have good fortune and wealth for the new year. Anchor charm: safety and protection for the finder. A ring: the finder will get married in the next year.

What do Americans call Christmas pudding? ›

First off, the English term “pudding” can refer to just about any “dessert”, though “Christmas pudding” is a specific type of dessert, that an American is more likely to call an extreme variant of a “soaked cake” or “brandy cake”.

What's the difference between Christmas pudding and figgy pudding? ›

Rather than creamy puddings and custards, which Southern cooks are familiar with, this Christmas pudding dates back to medieval England and is a steamed cake full of spices, raisins, and currants soaked in brandy. If it contains figs, it is called a figgy pudding.

Is Christmas pudding the same as fruitcake? ›

You're forgiven if you think Christmas Pudding is the round English version of an American fruitcake. While it has similarities, they are altogether different. Both improve with age and include dried fruits, chopped nuts, hearty spices, and steep in a cold dark spot for weeks, but that is where the similarities end.

What does Christmas pudding mean to Christians? ›

The pudding was meant to have 13 ingredients to represent Jesus and his 12 disciples. Often small trinkets were hidden in the mixture (a silver coin for wealth, a ring for future marriage and a thimble for spinsterhood!). The brandy poured over it and set alight represented the passion of Christ.

What is the traditional name for Christmas pudding? ›

Christmas Pudding originated in medieval England. As the recipe evolved through time, the name evolved along with it. Known initially as Pottage, it has also been called Plum Pudding, Figgy Pudding, and Frumenty.

What is medieval Christmas pudding called? ›

Figgy pudding or fig pudding is any of many medieval Christmas dishes, usually sweet or savory cakes containing honey, fruits and nuts. In later times, rum or other distilled alcohol was often added to enrich the fruitiness of the flavour.

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