I must confess, Anna, I don't know what you are referring to. However, here is an interesting (I think) bit of language trivia.
The Sunday which immediately precedes the season of Advent used to be called "The Sunday Next before Advent". (In the more modern Kalendar now in use, it's the Feast of Christ the King.) From Tudor times (i.e., from the publication of the first Book of Common Prayer in England, 1549) this day was popularly known as "Stir-Up Sunday", from the collect for the day (particular prayer for that Sunday), which went, "Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people; that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may by thee be plenteously rewarded, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen." Thus, the goodwives of the parish were reminded that it was time to stir up their plum puddings and fruitcakes, which they did in the week following so they would have time to age before Christmas.
Thomas Cranmer wrote this on the basis of the collect for the 3rd Sunday in Advent (Gaudete Sunday) in the old Latin liturgy used before the English Reformation, which started, "Excite, Domine, quaesumus, potentiam tuam et veni ..." and which he replaced by a totally different prayer. While the old "Stir up" collect is gone now from Anglican prayerbooks, much to the sorrow of many lovers of the old Elizabethan liturgy, happily the old Latin collect has gained new life; after more than 400 years, it is now back where it belongs, Gaudete Sunday (Advent III), and starts, in the modern English version, "Stir up your power, O Lord, and with great might come among us; ...", which is an almost literal translation of the old Latin version.
