BLOWING THE PUDDING

An old custom in Newfoundland was to celebrate with gunfire the successful lifting of the Christmas pudding from the pot. One account of a surprised observer:

On Christmas Day I was astonished to hear so many gun shots and ran quickly about to see what was wrong. There they have a fashion of blowin' the Christmas puddin' out of the pot.

As the wife or woman of the house is lifting the pudding from the pot, the husband or man of the house is standing outside the back door with the gun. As soon as the pudding rises out, the shot is fired into the air.