"Is it illegal to eat mince pies on Christmas Day?" (2024)

FAQs

"Is it illegal to eat mince pies on Christmas Day?"? ›

It has been claimed that eating the snack is illegal in England if done so on Christmas Day. The tradition comes from the time of Oliver Cromwell in the 1650s, when mince pies

Some speculation has it that mince pies were illegal to eat on the day of Christmas. However, the only Christmas Day where eating mince pies was illegal was 1644 due to December falling on a day of fasting. Eat all of the mince pies to your heart's desires!

Oliver Cromwell made the celebration of Christmas illegal including the consumption of certain foods. Although the Act has never been repealed, it has been superceded so you can now eat as many as you like.

They became a popular treat around the festive period thanks to a tradition from the middle ages, which saw people eat a mince pie for 12 days from Christmas day to Twelfth Night. Doing this was believed to bring you happiness for the next 12 months.

Mincemeat pie is a dish that isn't very common in the American kitchen, which can lead to some confusion for cooks, even those on the Allrecipes staff.

A mince pie (also mincemeat pie in North America, and fruit mince pie in Australia and New Zealand) is a sweet pie of English origin filled with mincemeat, being a mixture of fruit, spices and suet. The pies are traditionally served during the Christmas season in much of the English-speaking world.

The tradition comes from the time of Oliver Cromwell in the 1650s, when mince pies were banned at Christmas, along with other tasty treats. Cromwell wanted to tackle gluttony in England. He also argued that Christmas contained too many superstitions of the Roman Catholic Church, which he hated.

By the mid-1600s, plum pudding was sufficiently associated with Christmas that when Oliver Cromwell came to power in 1647 he had it banned, along with Yule logs, carol-singing and nativity scenes. To Cromwell and his Puritan associates, such merry-making smacked of Druidic paganism and Roman Catholic idolatry.

Can children eat Christmas pudding for having an alcoholic content? Yes. Many foods have traces of alcohol (Ethanol) and many other alcohols can be present in trace amounts. The volume of alcohol in Christmas pudding is not high, even when flambeed and served with Brandy butter or a whisky sauce.

The reason mincemeat is called meat is because that's exactly what it used to be: most often mutton, but also beef, rabbit, pork or game. Mince pies were first served in the early middle ages, and the pies were quite sizeable, filled with a mixture of finely minced meat, chopped up fruit and a preserving liquid.

When did mince pies become a Christmas tradition? ›

The Early Origins

The history of mince pies can be traced back to the Middle Ages. During this time, mince pies were known as "Christmas pies" and were filled with a mixture of minced meat, fruits, and spices. These pies were often shaped like a manger to symbolize the birth of Jesus.

Historically, mincemeat pie did contain meat, such as mutton, beef, or even game meats, alongside fruits and spices. However, modern versions focus on a delectable, sweet blend of dried fruits, spices, and sometimes rum or brandy.

The mince pie was originally filled with meat but it's believed that it wasn't until the late Victorian period and the early 20th century that mince pies shifted to a pie made from fruit fillings. Is it still illegal to eat mince pies on Christmas day?

Scottish oatcakes, spicy hot crossed buns, proper scones and such seasonal treats as Bath buns, Easter Simnel Cake, the tiny mince pies (tartlets really) that are an important part of a British Christmas, Penguins and Jaffa Cakes (favorite chocolate coated British biscuits - aka cookies) are all allowed.

They exist, but aren't super common. Some restaurants have them.

Go with the tradition and eat a dozen

There is a tradition of eating one mince pie each day over the 12 days of Christmas from Christmas Eve to 5 January.

Mince pies are high in calories, saturated fat and sugar because of the pastry case, as well as the suet and sugar in the mincemeat filling.

Mince pies are one of the staples of the UK Christmas. According to Good Housekeeping, we eat around 800 million of them each year.