Why do we eat MINCE PIES?

The mince pie goes back hundreds of years - England's King Henry V was a great fan of them and was served a mincemeat pie at his coronation in 1413. When the crusaders returned from the Holy Land with spices, and it was deemed appropriate to celebrate Christ's birthday with a pie containing spices from his native land. It was important to add three spices (cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg) for the three gifts given to the Christ child by the Magi. Originally the mince pie did contain meat - mincemeat was a way of preserving meat by mixing it with fruit, spices and alcohol.

richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.