WHEN asked what is special about Christmas, food often comes into the conversation; reminiscing about grandma’s trifle; the time we forgot to turn on the oven to cook the turkey; or the thought of eating brussel sprouts making us turn green!
Last Saturday it looked like the Great British Bake Off had hit our kitchen when our daughter spent all afternoon baking mince pies with stars on top. They disappeared as fast as she could bake them, giving them to neighbours and friends and eating a good few too.
Why do we eat mince pies at Christmas? Tradition has it that they were first made to represent the manger (an animal food trough) that Jesus was placed into when he was first born. The pies were shaped like a manger and filled with shredded meat as the hay and were called ‘shred pies’. Then after 1660 the pies became more like those of today with a sweet filling and often had the Star of Bethlehem on top. Mince pies are part of our Christian heritage.
Christ is in Christmas – but have we discovered him yet? Now, where’s that tin of mince pies?
REVEREND ALISON RICHARDS Methodist Minister, Lansdowne Crescent, Somers Park Avenue and Upper Welland Methodist Churches, Malvern
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here