Stir-up Sunday is an informal term in Catholic and Anglican churches for the last Sunday before the season of Advent. It gets its name from the beginning of the collect for the day in the Book of Common Prayer, which begins with the words, "Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people".
WIKI
Bring a centuries-old custom into your home this Christmas with a six pence for Stir-up Sunday. Taking place on the Sunday before Advent, which falls on 21st November this year, on Stir-up Sunday families will make their Christmas puddings together and stir in a sixpence for luck.
Tradition dictates the coin will bring good fortune in the year ahead for the person who finds it in their piece of the pudding on Christmas Day.
** I do not claim to own this recipe. While I have used this exact recipe for a few years(and tweaked it slightly to taste), the methodology and list below comes directly from the JAMIE OLIVER website:
Ingredients
- unsalted butter , for greasing
- 150 g Medjool dates
- 150 g dried apricots
- 150 g pecan nuts
- 75 g crystallized ginger
- 1 small sprig of fresh rosemary
- 150 g dried cranberries
- 150 g raisins
- 150 g suet
- 150 g plain flour
- 75 g fresh breadcrumbs
- 200 ml semi-skimmed milk
- 1 large free-range egg
- 1 clementine
- golden syrup
- barrel-aged Bourbon
Method
- Grease a 1.5 litre pudding bowl with butter.
- Destone your dates, then, by hand or in a food processor, finely chop the flesh with the apricots, pecans, ginger and rosemary leaves. Place it all in a mixing bowl with the cranberries, raisins, suet, flour, breadcrumbs and milk. Crack in the egg, finely grate in the clementine zest, squeeze in the juice and mix it all together really well.
- Tip the mixture into the greased bowl and cover with a single layer of greaseproof paper and a double layer of tin foil. Tie a piece of string around the bowl to secure them in place and make it watertight, then sit it in a large, deep saucepan and pour in enough water to come halfway up the sides of the bowl.
- Bring the water to the boil, cover the pan with a tight-fitting lid, and reduce to a simmer for 4 hours. Check the water regularly, and keep topping it up with boiling water, if needed.
- When the time’s up, lift out the bowl, remove the foil and paper, then carefully turn the pudding out on to a plate ready to serve, or leave to cool and reheat just before you need it.
- You can either drizzle it with golden syrup and a swig of Bourbon – gorgeous – or be a bit more flamboyant and gently heat a good few swigs of Bourbon just to warm it, then strike a match to the pan (stand back!), let it flame, and carefully pour it over your pudding.
- Present it to your guests and sing some Christmassy songs, then when the flame subsides drizzle with golden syrup. Serve with cream, custard or even ice cream.
Silver sixpence 1922 - 1946
Prior to 1920, the silver sixpence was struck from 0.925 fine silver, but in 1920 this was changed to 0.500 fine silver, as the death of the silver standard was well underway.
Because the sixpence has been around for hundreds of years, the prices of the coins range greatly.... You can pick up 50% silver post-1920s versions for as little as a few quid, and old Elizabathan (and older) for several hundred pounds, although i wouldnt add these collectors coins to your puddings.
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