Why not escape the Christmas rush, with a mince pie morning or relaxing Saturday stories.
If you are free on Tuesday 11 December 10.30am -12.30pm pop into Runcorn Library or Widnes Library.
Pull up a chair and have a natter over a cup of tea and a mince pie.
Our friendly library staff will be serving up festive sweet treats, lots of conversation and there may even be the odd carol or two! Forget about the stresses of the festive period for a few hours and relax in the library with friends.
Christmas Saturday stories take place on Saturday 15th December 11am to 11.45am at Halton Lea Library and Widnes Library. It is our final Saturday Stories session of the year – come along in your Christmas jumpers for festive stories and songs.
They are free, drop in sessions.
Mince Pies, like Christmas Puddings, were originally filled with meat, such as lamb, rather than the dried fruits and spices mix as they are today. They were also first made in an oval shape to represent the manger that Jesus slept in as a baby, with the top representing his swaddling clothes. Sometimes they even had a ‘pastry baby Jesus’ on the top!
During the Stuart and Georgian times, in the UK, mince pies were a status symbol at Christmas. Very rich people liked to show off at their Christmas parties by having pies made is different shapes (like stars, crescents, hearts, tears, & flowers); they fancy shaped pies could often fit together a bit like a jigsaw!
They also looked like the ‘knot gardens’ that were popular during those periods. Having pies like this meant you were rich and could afford to employ the best, and most expensive, pastry cooks.
But don’t worry – We aren’t charging for the events at our libraries!