Today is Stir-Up Sunday
A tradition that celebrates the ‘coming’ of Christmas
The day for family to come together
To make a Christmas cake or pudding
Everyone, young and old
Should take a turn stirring the pudding mixture for luck
From East to West in honour of the Three Wise Men
Each person can make a secret wish
And chant the traditional rhyme
“Stir Up, we beseech thee,
The pudding in the pot.
And when we get home
We’ll eat the lot!”
This rhyme
And the name ‘Stir Up Sunday’
Comes from the opening words
Of the collect for the day
In the Book of Common Prayer of 1549 and later
“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;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”
Sadly in our house
No one likes Christmas pudding
Or Christmas cake
And so we do not have
Stir-Up Sunday
Though I do love the idea of it
Instead we will be making
A Twelfth Night Cake
To enjoy together after Christmas Day
When we extend our celebrations
In the traditional way
Through the original 12 days of Christmas
The twelve days of Christmas
Finish on Twelfth Night
And that is when we will enjoy
To aid our creative process
We will be reading
This brilliant romp of a story
Inspired by the song
The Twelve Days Of Christmas
This is a glorious rhyming story
With a whole host of wild animals
Bringing forth ingredients
Needed to make a
Twelfth Night Cake
With Christmas Day over
We join two children
And a gorgeous dog
As they head into the kitchen
To make their special cake
The illustrations are filled with
Gentle humour and warmth
There is so much to enjoy
On every page
As the chorus of creatures
Cause mischief and mayhem
And much merriment
First a partridge comes to call
With dried fruits
Two doves arrive
In a festive floury flurry
Three hens fly by
In hot air balloons
Four penguins arrive
In their festive finery
To add a spoonful of sugar
To proceedings
Royal Rabbits deliver
Five gold rings
Six geese gather with
Six tasty eggs
Seven Swans
Swoop in with spices
Cats and cows
Obviously bring the butter!
While nine dancing hippos
Provide the cherries
To top the cake
Frog lords a leaping
And eleven pipers icing
(Genius!)
Add to the Christmas chaos
And then all the animals
Join together in jubilation
To celebrate their
Cracker of a cake
As they enjoy
Their Twelfth Night Tea
This is such a brilliant book
Sharing with children
The tradition of
The Twelve Days of Christmas
Twelfth Night Cake
And the special way of choosing
A Twelfth Night King
There is SO much to love
About this bonkers book
If you are looking for some
Fabulous festive fun
This brilliant and beautiful
Book of Baking
Is the perfect story for you
This would be a great book
To read together on Christmas Day
Or even on Boxing Day
To continue the festivities
And the family fun
Have a go at singing the traditional song
The words are at the back of the book
Along with a delicious
Christmas cupcake recipe
A yuletide gift that keeps on giving
We adore this one
And we are sure that you will too
‘Tis the season
For books and baking!
PS – do keep an eye on the super cute dog