Catholic Activity: Christmas Pie

Mince pie is part of the traditional Christmas dinner. Here is a short summary on the symbolism of the mincemeat pie.

DIRECTIONS

Many families have the custom of baking a mince pie for the Christmas dinner. In pre-reformation England, these Christmas mince pies were made in oblong form, representing the manger in which Christ was born. Sometimes a little figure of the infant Jesus was placed in a slight depression in the crust. Thus the pie was served as an object of devotion as well as part of the Christmas feast. The Puritans claimed that the custom of eating Christmas pie was "an abomination, idolatry, superstition, and a popish observance"; consequently it was condemned at the same time as the Puritans condemned Christmas itself. Needless to say, the condemnation didn't last long, and the pie was soon back on the Christmas tables. You might tell the children the meaning of the Christmas pie when you place your mince pie on the table on Christmas (Weiser, Francis X., The Christmas Book, Harcourt, Brace & Co., NY, quoted by The Catholic Digest, Dec., 1953).

Activity Source: How to Make Your House a Home by Rev. Bernard Stokes, O.F.M., Family Life Bureau, Washington D.C., 1955