That explains mince tarts too. Nothing but some flour that went black, some lard, ditto, and a few scruffy raisins. Well, let's try a lard and raisin tart. The good news is, the taste will mask the eggnog. The bad news is, all we have to mask the taste of the tart is more eggnog.
Some traditions go on too long.
It was like watching her become a teenager in five and a half seconds. Seeing her face when she then tasted the Christmas pudding was like watching the teenager get a job and discover taxes, mortgages, and her first grey hair in another five and a half seconds. You can't buy that kind of entertainment. So the tradition has some purpose. Still, enough is enough.