Stir up Sunday – make your Xmas pudding

Stir-up Sunday – 22 November 2026

There are some Christmas traditions worth keeping alive.

The Sunday before Advent is traditionally known as Stir-up Sunday – the day families would gather together to make their Christmas pudding, giving it several weeks to mature before Christmas Day.

The name actually comes from the opening words of the old Church of England collect for the day: “Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord…” Somewhere along the way, those words became wonderfully entangled with the annual business of stirring up the Christmas pudding.

Tradition says that everyone in the household should take a turn with the wooden spoon, stirring the mixture and making a Christmas wish.

So if you fancy reviving an old tradition this year, Sunday 22 November is the day to get out the mixing bowl.

A traditional Christmas pudding

100g currants
150g sultanas
150g raisins
75g mixed peel
1 small eating apple, grated
50g chopped almonds
100g fresh breadcrumbs
100g dark brown muscovado sugar
100g suet
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp mixed spice
¼ tsp nutmeg
Zest of 1 orange and 1 lemon
2 large eggs
75ml stout or dark ale
50ml brandy
1 tbsp black treacle
A pinch of salt

Mix everything together thoroughly, cover and leave overnight. The following day, pack into a buttered pudding basin, cover securely with baking parchment and foil and steam gently for around 6 hours.

Once cool, store somewhere cool, dark and dry until Christmas. On Christmas Day, steam again for around 2 hours and serve with brandy butter, cream or custard.

And don’t forget the most important part: everyone gets a stir and a wish.