Stir-Up Sunday?

I have noted along the way that the liturgical season of Advent, which begins a week from today, was originally longer and Lent-like, a time of contemplative preparation for Christmas. I hadn't considered that because of those origins there might be an equivalent to Shrove or Fat Tuesday. That's Mardi Gras, the time to get your ya-yas out in partying, make your confession while you're at it, and use up the fat for cooking before the austere Lenten days.

It turns out that in some parts of the world, including pockets of Newfoundland, there is Stir-up Sunday, a traditional which is virtually gone in England and Wales and apparently Newfoundland, although we never heard of it when we lived there. According to Andie Bulman for CBC Newfoundland: 

In the last few centuries, the final Sunday before Advent (usually the last of November) has been celebrated by home cooks who "stir up" their Christmas cakes and puddings. The name has often been traced to the prayer said on that day in the Anglican church, "Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people...It enjoyed its heyday during Queen Victoria's reign, but those roots are deep and go back through the centuries.

In many homes, Stir-up Sunday has been a family tradition: each member takes the spoon, gives it a stir, and makes a wish. Whether those wishes come true or not, cooking together is always a good idea. Traditionally, Stir-up Sunday puddings involved 13 ingredients, one for Jesus and each disciple. 

Not only is this a pre-Advent tradition, the Germans acknowledge this Sunday as Totensonntag or Sunday of the Dead, an official holiday which is not unlike All Saints/Souls when the dead are remembered and honoured. It is to observed as a "silent day" on which music is restricted and dancing is forbidden. Christmas lights aren't turned on until after this Sunday. 

If you asked most Canadians what Advent is you would probably be met with a blank stare - and that's from churchgoers! Then again, they wouldn't necessarily be aware that this is Reign of Christ Sunday either.

I like the "stir-up" tradition, and the practice of a "silent day." They don't seem to be mutually exclusive, although family bakers using sign language is hard to imagine. As North American Christian traditions become more like the fading Cheshire Cat we could do well to revive a tradition or two.