Christmas song

Oh, Bring Us a Figgy Pudding

/ sandramervillehart

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by Sandra Merville Hart

We sing the familiar Christmas tune, “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” every year. I realized that I had never eaten Figgie Pudding at the holidays or on any other occasion.

Searching through my cookbooks written in the 1800s didn’t produce a recipe for the pudding, which made me wonder when folks sang the song originally. Yet if carolers refused to leave until they received a serving, the dessert must taste delicious.

img_2488The song is believed to date back to England in the 1500s. Carolers sang to their neighbors with greetings of the season. They hoped wealthy citizens would give them a treat, such as figgy pudding, to reward their entertainment.

The song, “Here We Come A-wassailing,” asked for a drink from rich neighbors’ wassail bowl, an invitation to warm themselves around the fire, and maybe a pork pie. “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” issues a specific request—Figgie Pudding.

Apparently, the tradition of making this dessert at Christmas had faded by the nineteenth century, but I was still wanted to make the pudding.

I found a modern recipe on the Food Network site. Click here  to see the recipe.

img_2497I made the pudding as directed. The cook said that the ratio of ingredients half-filled eight ramekins. Mine hold six ounces, so I’m not sure what size ramekins the cook used because there was a lot of batter leftover. The remaining batter went into a casserole dish, so this recipe will feed about a dozen guests.

My husband and I both enjoyed the rich pudding with a hint of chocolate. The creamy sauce on top enhanced the flavor. The dates and figs flavored every bite.

If you try this, I’d love to hear about it.

“We Wish You a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!”

Sources

“Warm Sticky Figgy Pudding,” Television Food Network GP, 2016/10/25  http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/warm-sticky-figgy-pudding-recipe.html

“We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” Carols.org.uk, 2016/10/25  https://www.carols.org.uk/we_wish_you_a_merry_christmas.htm.

“We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” Wikipedia, 2016/10/25  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_Wish_You_a_Merry_Christmas.

 

What was Wassailing?

/ sandramervillehart

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by Sandra Merville Hart

We often hear an old song at Christmas, “Here we come A-wassailing.” So what does this mean?

In Old English, the word wassail meant “be you healthy.”

Wassail were warm mulled drinks. The beverages became “mulled” when heated with spices and some type of sweetener. Early drinks were made with mead, where ale was sweetened with honey and then brewed. Crab apples were roasted and then added to the mead to create lambswool, a beverage. Folks drank lambswool to celebrate the wheat harvest on Lammas Day, an event observed by the English in August.

crabapple-193676_960_720Wassail later was made with mulled cider, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and sugar. Toasted bread topped the drinks served in a large bowl shared by everyone.

Wassailing referred to the tradition of caroling, with folks singing Christmas carols to neighbors. They brought greetings of the season as well as wishes for good health.

Generosity abounded at Christmas, at least in the hearts of some of the wealthier English citizens. Orphans and beggars often traveled snowy roads to knock on doors. They offered to sing of good cheer for a drink from the owner’s wassail bowl.

open-fire-885860_960_720They also hoped for a pork pie or an invitation to warm themselves around the fire.

The song also mentions their need of money: “We have got a little purse of stretching leather skin; We want a little of your money to line it well within.” The orphans hoped for pennies.

A hot drink on a cold winter’s night warmed the carolers’ spirits just as their songs cheered the listeners.

“Love and joy come to you”—Merry Christmas!

Sources

“Here We Come A-Wassailing,” Wikipedia, 2016/10/19 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Here_We_Come_A-wassailing.

“Wassail,” Wikipedia, 2016/10/19 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wassail.