A/N Aaaaaaaaand we're back! It's that time of year again - let the feel-good Chelsie Christmas stories begin! Thank you so much for all the support for this series in previous years. This is the seventeenth entry that I've posted during the past seven years, and while I can't promise to finish the remaining nine letters of the alphabet this year, I'll try my best to write and post as many chapters as possible.

Here's the first chapter for this year: Pudding. Brief historical note: In England, Christmas pudding was traditionally prepared on "Stir-Up Sunday," the last Sunday before Advent. (The readings for the day's services include the words, "Stir up, we beseech Thee, O Lord, the wills of Thy faithful people.") Everyone in the family took a turn stirring the ingredients and making a wish. Then the pudding was tied in a pudding cloth, boiled, hung to dry, and stored until Christmas, when it was reheated, then set alight with brandy prior to being served. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, there was a push by the Empire Marketing Board to get people to buy ingredients sourced from places around the British Empire to make their Empire Christmas Pudding, and the royal chef shared his recipe with the public. I imagine most of our Downton crowd would be completely on board with this patriotic notion.

P – Pudding

November 20, 1932: Stir-Up Sunday

"You know, even though it's a relatively new tradition for us, I look forward to this every year," said Mrs. Carson as she stood next to her husband in the kitchen of their friends' farmhouse.

"So do I!" Mr. Carson added. "It's certainly a bright spot during this dreary time of year, with its dark, damp, cold, blustery days."

It was Stir-Up Sunday, and the kitchen at Yew Tree Farm, home to the Masons and the Parkers, was bustling with activity and brimming with people. Mrs. Mason* and Mrs. Parker** were making their famous Christmas pudding, and all and sundry had been invited to help after the morning's church services. The Crawleys were away visiting Lord and Lady Hexham, and so most of the servants were free that afternoon. Mr. Barrow had allowed them the time off, and even though he, too, had been invited to join the rest, he politely declined and offered to stay behind and mind the house in their absence.

Mr. Carson, Mr. Molesley, and Mr. Mason had procured the ingredients for the pudding earlier in the week. Some of the ingredients – like milk and eggs – were readily available from Yew Tree farm itself or from the estate's home farm. But for the remaining ingredients, the three men had seen it as their patriotic and culinary duty to search out and obtain the finest supplies the British Empire had to offer, spending a day traveling to Ripon, Thirsk, and even York in their fastidious but ultimately fruitful quest.

Mrs. Mason and Mrs. Parker were now organizing their materials at the large table in the middle of the room, while Mrs. Bates, Mrs. Carson, and Mrs. Molesley*** organized the children: young Johnny and Billy Bates, and little Tess and Sophie Parker.

Once the mixing bowl and spoon were ready, Mrs. Mason called the children to help pour in the ingredients. "Johnny, can you help me find the currants?" she asked the eldest of her young helpers.

"Here they are!" the boy cried excitedly, pointing to the currants on the table.

"Yes, thank you, young man!" said Mrs. Mason. "Now, can you pour them into the bowl?"

"Oh, yes!" said Johnny, bouncing up and down. He scrambled onto a chair to reach the table, and Mrs. Parker helped him get the currants into the mixing bowl. They spilled a few on the table in the process, and Johnny dutifully picked them up and put them into the bowl with the rest.

"Now what about the sultanas?" asked Mrs. Parker. "Tess, do you know which ones are the sultanas?"

Mrs. Parker lifted her daughter and stood her on a chair so that she could see. "These, Mummy?" asked Tess eagerly, pointing to the dried fruit.

"That's very good, sweetheart!" her mother praised her. "Let's pour them into the bowl."

The cook and her little girl neatly and carefully added the sultanas to the bowl.

"Billy," called Mrs. Mason, "we need the raisins next, but I can't seem to find them. Will you help me?"

The lad walked over and pointed to the raisins on the table. "Right here!"

"Of course! There they are. How clever you are!" she commended him. The boy smiled proudly.

"Should I pour them in?" he asked.

"Please do!" the elder cook instructed. Billy climbed onto a chair. Mrs. Parker helped him, and most of the raisins made it into the mixing bowl with the other dried fruit. She allowed Billy to eat the few pieces that had fallen onto the table.

Things continued in this way: the two cooks directed the making of the pudding; the children helped pour in the ingredients as instructed; and the other adults minded the children who weren't actively engaged at any given time. When all the edible ingredients had been added, Mr. Mason, Mr. Carson, Mr. Bates, Mr. Molesley, and Andy each added a silver coin to the mixture. Then it was time to stir the pudding and make wishes.

Young Sophie Parker was the first. Since she was still an infant, her father helped her. She grasped the large wooden spoon with two hands, and Andy helped her stir it clockwise, from east to west, as tradition dictated.

Tess was next. The toddler wanted to do it herself, but she since wasn't quite strong enough to move the spoon through the mixture on her own, her mother helped her.

"Close your eyes and make a wish," Mrs. Parker instructed her daughter. "But don't say it out loud – else it won't come true!"

The girl was quiet and looked thoughtful for a moment, but then her face broke into a smile.

Billy and Johnny Bates were next. The boys were old enough, strong enough, and dexterous enough to stir the pudding on their own. They both looked exceedingly earnest when they closed their eyes to make their wishes.

Then the adults all took their turns stirring and wishing: Mrs. Carson, Mrs. Molesley, and Mrs. Bates, followed by Mr. Carson, Mr. Molesley, Mr. Bates, Mrs. Mason, and Andy. Finally, Mrs. Parker and Mrs. Mason gave the mixture one final stir each and declared it ready to be wrapped and boiled.

While the two cooks wrapped the pudding in a pudding cloth and then set it to boil, the other adults took the children outside to see the animals. Once the pudding was steadily boiling away, the assembled crowd enjoyed a delicious luncheon, courtesy of the Masons. The children provided a lively air to the afternoon, and the mood was merry and festive. Everyone was loath to see the gathering draw its close, but as the afternoon wore on, the guests all thanked their hosts, said their goodbyes, and returned to their cottages. Guests and hosts alike looked forward to the time, in just over month, when they would all gather again on Christmas to enjoy the pudding.

As the Carsons walked back to their cottage, huddled close against the chill and the wind and the slight mist in the air, Mr. Carson asked his wife a serious question. "When we have these gatherings, does it ever make you sad? Do you ever regret that we have no family of our own?"

She looked at him, surprised and confused. "Sad? No family of our own? I believe we've just spent the afternoon with our siblings, children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews - and that makes me very happy. Do you not see it that way?" she worried.

"Yes, I suppose I do," he told her. "But it's nice to hear it reinforced and to know that you feel that way, too. Making Christmas pudding is a family affair, and the people who invite us into their home to help make the pudding must be our family, if not by blood, then certainly by affinity."

"Just so, my dear. Well said," she agreed. "And if you need further reassurance, I'll tell you a secret. I didn't even make a wish as I stirred the pudding earlier."

"Why not?" he asked, his brow creased.

"What should a woman wish for when she already has everything she could possibly want?" she replied simply with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Continued happiness, perhaps? That we'll remain this way forever?" he suggested. "That was my wish."

"You're not supposed to tell!" she admonished him gently with a fond smile.

"Nonsense! I have every confidence that my wish will come true."

"Then why did you bother wishing?"

"Well … it is tradition, you know," he explained.

"Yes, I know. And you, my dear, do love tradition."

"Almost as much as I love my wife," he teased her, earning himself a loving swat on the arm.

December 25, 1932

The servants' luncheon at the Abbey on Christmas Day was a jolly affair. The Parkers, the Bateses, the Molesleys, and Mr. Barrow were, of course, in attendance. The Carsons and Mrs. Mason, all retired, had returned to the abbey along with Mr. Mason, who, although he'd never worked at the big house, had become a regular and most welcome visitor. The servants and visitors dined on a scrumptious feast, but the highlight was the pudding. Having reheated it earlier, Mrs. Parker now doused it in brandy, set it alight, and carried it, blazing, to the table to serve. Everyone cheered, the children most loudly. Mr. Barrow, as butler, had the honor of dishing out the pudding. He made sure that the Bates boys and the Parker girls all received portions that contained silver coins. The portion with the fifth coin he deliberately gave to Mrs. Parker, in recognition of all her hard work.

After the meal came music, dancing, and games. Mr. Barrow held little Sophie and twirled her around the room, much to the infant's delight. Johnny "danced" with Tess; their "dance" amounted to the two of them bounding about the room in close proximity, with no real purpose or rhythm but great enthusiasm. And Mrs. Bates danced with Billy, who led his mother aimlessly but quite happily about the room by her hands. Other couples joined the dancing, but most of the attention was focused on the children, who provided much entertainment and delighted the crowd. Then the adults played charades while the children were occupied with milk and biscuits.

Finally, when everyone was exhausted from the fun, the party broke up. Mr. and Mrs. Mason, who cared for their granddaughters every day while Andy and Mrs. Parker worked at the abbey, took the girls back to the farm for their naps. Mr. Bates took Johnny and Billy up to the nursery, and the Carsons said their goodbyes. Those servants who still needed to work returned to serving the family.

"Well, that was a lovely, little party!" commented Mrs. Carson as she and Mr. Carson left the servants' courtyard and started on the path to their cottage, arm in arm.

"It was indeed," he concurred.

"And while I certainly enjoyed myself with our extended family, all the activity has worn me out," she admitted. "It'll be nice to get back to the peace and quiet of our own home. I look forward to spending the evening in front of a warm fire with the most precious member of my family."

He leaned close and kissed her cheek. "It warms my heart to hear you say that," he told her earnestly. "I hope you know that I feel the same way."

"I do," she assured him, smiling and squeezing his arm. "A very happy Christmas to us both!"

He stopped walking and turned to face her. "I can't imagine a better one," he said before pulling her close and kissing her.

A/N I hope you enjoyed this little bit of fluff with no real plot at all. If you haven't already figured it out, below you'll find the new names of the recently married women who are mentioned in this story. Yes, I ship just about everyone. Let's neatly pair everyone off. If it worked for Noah on his ark, why shouldn't it work at Downton Abbey?

* Mrs. Mason is the former Mrs. Patmore.

** Mrs. Parker is the former Daisy Mason.

*** Mrs. Molesley is the former Miss Baxter.

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