Boxing Puddings?
An American friend of mine told me that she thought we all sat around and watched boxing matches on Boxing Day. Well, as much as the British enjoy a good boxing match, we don't spend one whole year, arranging fights especially for this day of celebration. Boxing Day, pretty much like anything British, has a history and a tradition all of its own. There are different ideas surrounding its origins, but basically it boils down to just two.
First we can thank the church. The day after Christmas was always the day that the "alms boxes" were opened and the money inside of them was given to the poor. Secondly, the Lords and Ladies of the manor would box up their leftover food, or sometimes gifts and give them out the day after Christmas to tenants who lived and worked on their lands. Hence the term, "Boxing Day" and this is what it has become known as ever since!
Charles Dickens - A Christmas Carol
The Christmas Pudding makes Christmas doesn't it? And yes, it too, has a history of its own.
From the time I was old enough to realize what money was, Christmas Pudding contained money! Of course it didn't come with money already in it, the money was placed by our parents inside the pudding prior to cooking. But can you imagine our delight as with spoons readied, we dug in deep hoping to hit silver?
The Christmas Pudding wasn't a tradition in England until it was introduced to the Victorians by Prince Albert. It was a tradition that quickly became established within English customs. Sadly today, because of the length of time it takes to cook a pudding, most are bought instead of made.
The actual cooking of a pudding takes roughly about eight hours, but preparing it takes much longer! Although they take a long time to make, if they are wrapped well, puddings can keep for a long time and so most of them are made in advance and stored away for the big day.
Buying a store bought pudding deletes some of the traditions of making a pudding from scratch and that is kind of sad. Originally when the pudding was homemade, it was made on the Sunday before Advent. Each family member would stir the mixture and make a wish. The money would be added, usually silver (we could only afford sixpences!), and whoever found the coin or coins in their serving would have good fortune for the coming year.
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