One of the things I like best about Christmastime is the music. Ever since I was a child I knew Christmas music was a lot different from regular music. The old carols kind of confused me though, because of their weird choice of words (weird as in Victorian and British). For example, We Wish You A Merry Christmas has the following lyrics that always set my imagination wild:
Oh, bring us a figgy pudding;
Oh, bring us a figgy pudding;
Oh, bring us a figgy pudding and a cup of good cheer
What in the world is a “figgy pudding?” I pictured it as being a very off-colored vanilla pudding, or some wobbly, many-tiered jello-type thing. One thing I knew for sure, it was made with figs. As a child I thought a figgy pudding would be as gross as tapioca pudding, which is commonly known in my family as “bugger pudding,” even though everyone likes it except me.
But guess what? I finally got a taste of figgy pudding. And was really quite good.
Those British. Like Yorkshire pudding isn’t actually pudding but popover stuff, the figgy pudding isn’t really pudding either. It’s kind of cake-like. And very good with a little caramel sauce and a lot of real cream.
So yes, bring us a figgy pudding and a cup of good cheer. Yum!
Auntie B's Wax 
I think (though by putting it out here, I may hear quite a bit differently!) originally “pudding” referred to the fact that it was cooked in a water bath…Tiny Tim’s mother makes a Christmas pudding that way in Dickens’s story. Thanks, Sara!
That sounds very logical ~ thanks for the insight. And as much as I don’t care for figs this “pudding” was delicious. I suppose next on the British weird food list I should try would be spotted dick. Yikes.