Now bring us some figgy pudding!

Figgy pudding originates in the 16th century when it was a kind of porridge. In the 19th century it resembled the pudding we recognise today and was at the height of popularity, also known as Plum pudding and Christmas pudding. Yes it really is like steamed Christmas pudding but made with the addition of dried figs. In days gone by we vegetarians probably could not have eaten it as it would have been made with suet but nowadays the pudding recipes are mostly vegetarian versions.

The seasonal song "We wish you a Merry Christmas" is sung by Christmas carolers who ask to be paid in figgy pudding. And, of course, they won't go until they get some!

In Victorian England, Charles Dickens penned "A Christmas Carol" and wrote about the pudding made by Mrs. Cratchit which would, no doubt, have resembled the figgy/plum/Christmas pudding we know today:

"... the pudding, like a speckled cannon-ball, so hard and firm, blazing in half of half-a-quartern of ignited brandy, and bedight with Christmas holly stuck into the top.

Oh, a wonderful pudding!"

So, let's indulge ourselves in the past, present and future of Christmas. In the words of the carolers, "We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year".