From the Wikipedia page "Mince pie":
"The early mince pie was known by several names, including "mutton pie, "shrid pie" and "Christmas pie". Typically its ingredients were a mixture of minced meat, suet, a range of fruits, and spices such as cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. Served around Christmas, the savoury Christmas pie (as it became known) was associated with supposed Catholic "idolatry" and during the English Civil War was frowned on by the Puritan authorities. Nevertheless, the tradition of eating Christmas pie in December continued through to the Victorian era, although by then its recipe had become sweeter and its size markedly reduced from the large oblong shape once observed. Today, the mince pie remains a popular Christmas sweet in Britain, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, New England, and other parts of Anglophone world."
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