The 25th Sunday after Trinity and the Sunday nearest St. Andrew's day, 30th November, has long been known in Britain and North America as 'Stir Up Sunday. So that no-one could forget, boys would go from door to door of houses in towns and villages chanting 'Stir up, we beseech thee, the pudding in the pot and when we get home we will eat the lot'.

The custom of stirring the Christmas pudding goes back to the ancient Celts and their 'pudding' called frumenty, from the Latin for corn, frumentum. Mulled wheat was boiled in milk and spices added for flavouring, to create sticky mush. the Celts worshipped Dagda, a harvest god, whose task was to stir a huge cauldron of this mush and other foods, as symbols of harvest, to form a sort of porridge. While Dagda stirred, the Celts believed their future harvests would be bountiful, cows would give plenty of milk, hens lay lots of eggs and so on.

Gradually, the items used in the contents of the porridge were changed. Dried plums and other fruit, meat broth, fruit juices, chopped meat and tongue were added, forming a liquid concoction known as Plum porridge. What we now know as 'Christmas Pudding' evolved in the 1670s. Plum Porridge was thickened with breadcrumbs and chopped meat, tongue and meat broth were omitted and it was called Plum Pudding. In later times spices, peel and chopped almonds were included, this pudding being served in Victorian times as an appetiser at the start of the Christmas Dinner.

Pudding cloths were introduced in the 18th century. So that as the mixture swelled inside the cloth the pudding became rounded. Later the mixture was kept in the basin it was mixed in, a cloth being tied around the basin. After it was boiled in the basin, the pudding would be basin-shaped when turned upside down.

Traditionally, the pudding had to be stirred with a wooden spoon, from east to west; following the course of the sun, which was so important to the ripening of the corn harvest. Each person in the house, when the pudding was being made had to stir it three times for luck, while making three wishes, but only one would be granted.