Historically, Christmas pudding as we know it today, was introduced to England by Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria. The making of a Christmas pudding traditionally occurs on the last Sunday before Advent (about five weeks before Christmas) and this day is called Stir Up Sunday.

Customarily the Christmas pudding contains 13 ingredients to represent Jesus and his disciples. The pudding is stirred by each member of the family from east to west (to represent the Wise Men from the east that visited baby Jesus), and each person makes a wish while stirring.

If you’re old enough you will remember Christmas puddings containing coins that were said to bring the finder good luck. Before coins, charms were put inside Christmas puddings including a silver coin for wealth, a wishbone for luck, a thimble for thrift, a ring for marriage, and an anchor for safe harbour. In Australia the tradition of putting coins in Christmas pudding declined with the introduction of decimal currency in 1966, as the new copper coins would turn green and give the pudding a metallic flavour.

This year Stir Up Sunday falls on Sunday 24 November. If you would like to make your own pudding our Classic Cloth Boiled Christmas Pudding is a great recipe to try.