The 25 Strangest days of Christmas Day 23 - Light It Up: The Fiery History of Britain’s Christmas Pudding

0:00 Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome back to the Strange History podcast and

0:03 Speaker 1: day twenty three of our Victorian Christmas countdown the twenty

0:07 Speaker 1: five Strangest Days of Christmas. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, and

0:11 Speaker 1: that means we have two days left in this advent

0:13 Speaker 1: of podcasts. Today we travel to the UK. In the UK,

0:20 Speaker 1: Christmas dinner ends with the grand lighting of the Christmas pudding,

0:23 Speaker 1: a dense, boozy dessert soaked in brandy and set on fire.

0:27 Speaker 1: The tradition dates back to the fourteenth century, when puddings

0:31 Speaker 1: were savory meat dishes. Over time, they evolved into sweet

0:35 Speaker 1: concoctions loaded with dried fruit and enough alcohol to outlast

0:39 Speaker 1: an apocalypse. In eighteen forty five, Queen Victoria's cook famously

0:44 Speaker 1: used a brandy flame so large that it charred the

0:47 Speaker 1: tablecloth at Windsor Castle, Royal or Not. Putting related arson

0:51 Speaker 1: has been a national pastime ever since British cuisine setting

0:56 Speaker 1: dessert and expectations on fire since eighteen hundred. Oh people

1:02 Speaker 1: of the UK US Americans are jealous of your rich,

1:05 Speaker 1: quirky history.

1:06 Speaker 2: Truly flame on brandy for when your pudding deserves drama

1:11 Speaker 2: and your eyebrows don't, please use responsibly sold, we're prohibited.

1:17 Speaker 2: The Strange History Podcast is not responsible for charred tablecloths

1:21 Speaker 2: or facial hair or poor choices after eating, or Grandma

1:25 Speaker 2: getting run over by a reindeer.

1:27 Speaker 1: Don't forget to subscribe. The elves would approve.