Christmas Pudding Memories

"It's got a lovely ritual attached to it. Everyone in the house is meant to have a hand in making the pudding, so everyone should grab the whisk and, together, give it at least one turn around the bowl while — here's the best part — making a wish. If you'd like, you could even stir a little trinket into the batter. Do this, and the person who finds it will be guaranteed good luck. "(Link to the NPR broadcast "Now, You Can Bring Us Some Figgy Pudding")

The family would gather in the fall.  It was normally right around Halloween. We'd all go, all generations, young and old, the menfolk, the womenfolk and the kids underfoot.  We'd all descend on my Great Aunt Rose's house in Southfield, outside Detroit. Southfield was still primarily farmland and rustic.  Great Aunt Rose, along with my grandmother and their six other siblings  came to the States from England in the early 1910's. They were homesick, especially so at the holidays.   They did their best to keep as many traditions alive as possible, for as long as possible.
We each in turn were called upon to chop nuts, slice fruits, mash suet, and so forth.  Then finally we all got to take a turn stirring the batter in a large ceramic crock and make a wish. And of course we were told it would only come true if we were good and ate our fair share of the final product a two or three months hence.

There was laughter and tears, memories shared, memories created all in the heart of the love of my large extended family that filled Aunt Rose's home to 
make the pudding and then again later to eat it...together.

*****

After we all left, Aunt Rose would be the caretake of the pudding.  To "cure" the pudding with the blend of whiskey, rum and bourbon, she would form several dome-shaped puddings and store it away in the cool, dark cellar, being sure to turn it weekly, until it was time to serve it and it had aged just right.

We all knew the fine Irish whiskey or Beefeater Bourbon what preserved it as it aged to a sweet rich substance which we would not see again until we all gathered again on Twelfth Night, or, as we called it, "Little Christmas" in Janaury.   We were there to have the pudding, to celebrate family and tradition and to make our New Year's resolutions and wishes. Somewhere in the pudding were for the metal trinkets and silver coins that would ensure our fondest wishes would come true in the next twelve months.

It seemed to me that it would always be that way, a family tradition, preserved and honored from generation to generation. But as the years passed, and the older generation passed away, the next generation drifted apart. Seldom do we see or even hear from each other. We so share this the memories of the figgy puddings and the feeling of family those nights each year.

When Aunt Rose always brought out the pudding, fully engulfed in cool liquored flames. I can see her now, so many years later.  In the darkness, the blue flames rising off the dark pudding on the silver platter, we'd sing the old English folksong, "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" wherein the carolers demanded to be brought some figgy pudding (see below) .  Little did I know those days would pass.  But the memory lingers on and still warms we as I dream here in California of a white Christmas.  Thank you, Aunt Rose, for giving me those memories and for helping to keep that little kid inside me alive with awe and wonder over Christmases past.

We Wish You A Merry Christmas

We wish you a merry Christmas

We wish you a merry Christmas

We wish you a merry Christmas

And a happy New Year.

Glad tidings we bring

To you and your kin;

Glad tidings for Christmas

And a happy New Year!

We want some figgy pudding

We want some figgy pudding

We want some figgy pudding

Please bring it right here!

Glad tidings we bring

To you and your kin;

Glad tidings for Christmas

And a happy New Year!

We won't go until we get some

We won't go until we get some

We won't go until we get some

So bring it out here!

Glad tidings we bring

To you and your kin;

Glad tidings for Christmas

And a happy New Year!

We wish you a Merry Christmas

We wish you a Merry Christmas

We wish you a Merry Christmas

And a happy New Year.

Glad tidings we bring

To you and your kin;

Glad tidings for Christmas

And a happy New Year!

"We Wish You a Merry Christmas" is a popular secular 16th century English carol from West Country of England. It is one of the few traditional holiday carols that makes mention of the New Year's celebration.

In the days of Olde England, groups of traveling singers would entertain for food or pay. These groups were called "waits" and were extremely popular at Christmastime. We Wish You a Merry Christmas is one of these old tunes.

We wish you a Merry Christmas History has its roots in England. However the author and the composer of the song still remains unknown to the whole world. Therefore the date of the publication of the song is not known. This song We wish you a Merry Christmas actually reflects the Christmas tradition of showering gifts on the people who wandered from house to house, singing these Christmas songs to please the wealthy people of the community.