Christmas food traditions around the world

Christmas food traditions around the world

#Collaborative post

Christmas food traditions around the world

When you think of Christmas, one of the first things that springs to mind is sitting around the table, surrounded by your loved ones, tucking into some delicious food. But the question is — what Christmas foods are you looking forward to digging into?

We can safely assume that you probably have a classic Christmas roast, with turkey and all the trimmings, but did you know that Christmas food traditions are different, depending on where you are in the world!

Of course, not all countries or religions celebrate Christmas, but in this article, we will take a look at those that do and learn about their sometimes-unique Christmas food traditions.

Christmas Eve KFC — Japan

We bet that you didn’t expect the Colonel’s famous Kentucky Fried Chicken to be on this list, but it’s true, many Japanese citizens tuck into KFC on Christmas Eve! In fact, it’s estimated that around 3/6 million Japanese families order from the fast-food chain on Christmas Eve and do so annually, as part of their Christmas traditions.

The annual Christmas Eve KFC celebrations first began in the 1970s when the food giant created a holiday campaign and released a holiday party bucket. Since the country didn’t have many Christmas traditions of its own at the time, KFC created the slogan: ‘Kentucky for Christmas’ and the craze took hold, with families wanting to get their hands on the festively designed buckets of chicken. KFC pretty much told the lack of Japanese food traditions into their own hands and said — this is what we’re going to do from now on — and it turns out that many people listened and the tradition was born!

The Christmas Goose — Germany

The UK eat turkey, Japanese families are chowing down on some fried chicken, meanwhile Germany are throwing another bird into the mix — the goose. Known as Weihnachtsgans (good luck pronouncing that), goose was originally eaten on St.Martin’s day and is a German tradition that dates all the way back to the Middle Ages. Eventually, goose became a Christmas tradition and is eaten every year on the big day.

The bird is typically stuffed with sweet apples, prunes, onions and chestnuts am dos spiced using marjoram or mugwort. Your little ones might be glad to hear that you won’t find any sprouts on your plate at a German Christmas dinner, but you will probably have dumplings, red cabbage and sauerkraut, along with some other delicious festive treats. It seems that the general concept of Christmas in Europe is the same, or at least similar, each country has their own special food traditions!

Panettone — Italy

Now, this Christmas tradition may be familiar, since Panettone is such a delicious delicacy that it has become a worldwide festive sensation and you might be planning to have a slice this Christmas! This sweet bread originates from Italy and is usually filled with almonds, fruit peels and dried fruit and is enjoyed as a Christmas dessert after meals.

In the UK, you can in fact find many exciting variations of the Italian classic, including chocolate chip Panettone — perfect for your kids to try if they’re not fans of dried fruit!

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Maybe you have some Christmas food traditions that are specific to your family or fancy making some this year. The best way to do that is to get everyone stuck in, encouraging your kids to help out in the kitchen to make some delicious treats together for everyone to enjoy!