Christmas pudding is a traditional British dessert eaten after the Christmas meal. It evolved from medieval dishes and mince pies, and is believed to have religious significance. The modern version is made with suet, fruit, nuts, and spices, and is often flavored with liqueurs. It is decorated with sugar or holly leaves and can contain small coins or trinkets for good luck.
A Christmas pudding is a type of dessert traditionally eaten in Britain after the Christmas meal. The British have enjoyed this traditional Christmas dish to some extent since the early 1400s. Traditional Christmas pudding likely evolved from dishes such as pasta, a porridge-like concoction of meat, dried fruit, and spices that was widely consumed during the medieval Christmas season in Britain. Christmas pudding may also have evolved from mince pies that medieval people prepared to help preserve their meats and fruits over the winter, as these pies contained many of the same ingredients used in Christmas puddings today. Some believe that the preparation and serving of the dish has religious significance and that its traditional ingredients are often expensive and rare items in the medieval period.
A solid Christmas pudding, textured with crumbs and eggs, is believed by many to have probably evolved around 1600. The consumption of a Christmas pudding containing meat, fruit and spices and flavored with beer, wine or liqueur had probably been considered traditional in England for about two centuries. Historians believe that the evolution of Christmas pudding began when the Roman Catholic Church encouraged English families to prepare and consume this holiday. The traditional Christmas pudding is said to contain 13 ingredients, one representing each of the 12 apostles and one representing Jesus Christ. The pudding was to be made on the last Sunday before the Christian Advent season, and each family member had to take a turn mixing the pudding mixture, from east to west, as a tribute to the three wise men mentioned in the Christian Account of the Birth of Christ.
Traditional pudding as eaten today probably didn’t appear until Victorian times. This pudding is usually made with suet, fruit, nuts, flour and sugar and is also usually flavored with a range of spices, liqueurs and wines. It can be decorated with sugar or holly leaves before serving. Most British households like to pour brandy or another liqueur over the Christmas pudding and light it before ceremoniously presenting it at the table.
Small coins and trinkets have traditionally been baked into the pudding, for diners to find. A coin is said to bring wealth to the finder in the coming year, while a ring is said to indicate impending nuptials. A small anchor cooked in the pudding is said to bring security to the finder, while a thimble is said to bless the finder with a frugal spirit. Small wishbones are also sometimes baked into Christmas pudding and are said to bring good luck for a year to the seeker.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
