Stir Up Sunday

Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people; that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may of thee be plenteously rewarded;

Sentiments to which most right-thinking people of any faith could subscibe, you might think (even if the only 'lord' they acknowledge is their own common humanity or sense of justice). Curiously, given that this is the prescribed 'collect' (prayer) for the last Sunday before Advent in the Anglican calendar (still 5 weeks away), the one group whose theological antennae might at least twitch a little are protestant Christians - the doctrine of salvation by faith alone (not by good works) being the foundation stone upon which they built the blood-soaked schism with the church of Rome

At some point, it became a little Church of England in-joke that this Sunday was also reserved for stirring up the mixture that would become Christmas pudding four or five weeks later - and every member taking a turn stirring became a secular tradition in many families, including mine. So, it is not stir-up Sunday and this is not Christmas pudding, but it is mincemeat, which is (in this house) just as seasonal, and it is Sunday, and stirring it with the wooden-spoon on which our wise daughter many years ago inscribed 'no onions', with a present from her grandmother, felt like a family rite

There are sixteen ingredients, including three individual spices, from at least eleven countries on five continents - it's part of the reason I enjoy making it. I'll let you have fun guessing (hint: none of them are minced, and none of them are meat). Some of them are so interesting, I think my journal might return to this