I’ve been doing a lot of driving lately, to the mall, to gigs, to kids activities, and I’ve had my radio on the Christmas channel, so I’ve been soaking in glorious Holiday chestnuts like….well, “The Christmas Song” which actually has chestnuts in it.
And one song I’ve heard over and over and over and over again is that one about the Figgy Pudding. You know, it’s the “We Wish You A Merry Christmas” song. Having enjoyed multiple versions of it covered by everyone from Bing Crosby to Weezer to George Strait got me thinking…
What’s the deal with Figgy Pudding?
First of all, what is it? And second of all, why do we want it so much?
If you remember the song lyrics, the singers don’t just sing about it. They demand it forcefully and refuse to leave until they get some.
I can just picture it….16th century England….A cobblestone street straight out of a Dickens novel…A group of carolers is parked outside of some gentleman’s house, demanding figgy pudding. And the poor family is peering out the leaded glass windows.
“Are they still out there?” asks the 16th century husband.
“Why aren’t they leaving?” asks the 16th century wife.
“They want figgy pudding, and they won’t leave until they get some.” Say the 16th century children.
It’s essentially a pudding hostage situation. That pudding must be pretty darn good.
When I was growing up, we’d head over to my Grandmother’s house for Christmas Day. Not “over the river or through the woods”, but straight on down Route 22. There, we would have a Christmas feast with all the fixings. And every Christmas meal ended with my Dad dousing this dense, dark sticky cake with brandy and setting it on fire.
HEY, WAIT…
Just Googled “Figgy Pudding” and look what I found….
Figgy Pudding with flaming brandy
OMG!
Note: My 15 year old son told me that I’m not allowed to use the expression, “OMG”. Ever. Something about it being uncool, and that I’m a Mom now, so I’m just uncool in general, and that this expression compounds my general uncoolness to,” like”, the power of 1,000 or something. Oh, and I’m not ever allowed to tag his Facebook page as myself. But since he won’t ever be reading this…
OMG!
I’ve actually been eating Figgy Pudding my entire childhood!
So folks, I can speak from experience. Other than the treasured Christmas classic, the candied fruit cake! (which doubles as a fitness kettlebell in weight and heft), I can’t think of anything as dense and unappetizing as Figgy Pudding. It wouldn’t be in my top 20 dessert picks. And I certainly wouldn’t stage a dessert “stand off” until I got some.
Now, if it were warm, out-of-the oven chocolate cake, I’d feel differently. And I’d willingly gather a gang of friends, and we’d have a chocolate cake sit-in until they gave us some. (Heck, I’d even tag my son on FB to let him know about it.)
If you want to try making some Figgy Pudding, here’s a recipe I found. Merry merry to all and may all your holidays be bright. xo S
Well done, Susan.