Like Phileas Fogg’s journey around the world, our food adventure will take us through traditional Christmas Eve dinner. But instead of rushing through in a few days, we’ll go slowly to savor each holiday meal.
Come along as we explore the flavors and traditions that make each holiday meal a celebration. From snowy Europe to the sunny islands of Puerto Rico, let’s discover the traditions that bring us together during this special time of year.
10 Traditional Christmas Eve Dishes Around the World
Christmas dinner may look different around the world, but the best part is being with loved ones, sharing favorite dishes, and making memories together.
United States: Roast Turkey
In the United States, Christmas meals often include roast turkey with stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, and vegetables. The menu can vary a bit, but most families love having the traditional turkey or ham with gravy and mashed potatoes on their table. For dessert, you’ll often find a pumpkin, apple, or pecan pie, raisin pudding, chocolate cookies, and fruitcake. Yes, their Christmas dinner is a lot like Thanksgiving.
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Canada: Tourtière
In Canada, typical Christmas foods include tourtière, a Quebec meat pie with pork, beef, or veal, often served with chutney or ketchup. Roast turkey with stuffing and cranberry sauce is enjoyed throughout Canada, usually with mashed potatoes and vegetables. Desserts like butter tarts and Nanaimo bars are traditional during the Christmas holidays.
No other tradition brings families together in Central America as a Christmas dinner. In this region, it reflects the diverse cultures and influences from past centuries.
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Mexico: Tamales and Ponche Navideño
In Mexico, Christmas includes Tamales, steamed masa dough with fillings, Ponche Navideño, a warm fruit punch, and bacalao (salted cod). Families also share Ensalada de Noche Buena, a salad with apples, beets, and pomegranates. In central Mexico, people enjoy romeritos, seepweed sprigs seasoned with shrimp and mole sauce, often served with dried shrimp patties or on bread. Other favorites include enchiladas, and pozole.
On January 6th, for Epiphany, they enjoy Rosca de Reyes, a sweet bread with small hidden figurines
To a great extent, Christmas in Mexico means a tamale-making party called tamaladas. You might wonder, what are tamales anyway? Tamales are made of corn masa filled with different ingredients and wrapped in banana leaves or corn husks.
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Puerto Rico: Lechón Asado
In Puerto Rico, Christmas foods include lechón asado (roast pork) and arroz con gandules (rice with peas). Side dishes include cassava with garlic sauce, potato or pasta salad, and morcilla (blood sausage). Pasteles are also a traditional Christmas dish made from green bananas and meat.
For sweets, tembleque (coconut pudding) and arroz con dulce (sweet rice) are common. Families eat these dishes on Nochebuena, Christmas Eve. They also make coquito, a coconut drink like eggnog but with rum.
Argentina: Vitel Toné
The most known Christmas dish in Argentina is Vitel Toné, cold veal slices with tuna sauce and capers. This dish comes from Italy’s “Vitello Tonnato.” It is served as a starter or main dish at Christmas and New Year’s. Another popular dish is Asado (grilled meats) enjoyed with families gathering for large barbecues. Side dishes include chimichurri sauce, salads, and grilled vegetables.
For dessert, Argentinians have panettone and turrón (nougat), much like Italians. Since Argentinian Christmas falls during the summer, many families cool off with refreshing salads and sparkling cider.
In Argentina, Christmas dinner is a mix of many cultures, from indigenous groups, Spanish, Italians, and Europeans, along with newer influences from the Middle East and Asia.
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Brazil: Chester Roast and Rabanada
Brazilian Christmas dinners often include Chester, a roast chicken served with rice, farofa, and fruit. Other dishes include pork, turkey, and salads with mango or pineapple. Bacalhau, or salted cod, is also common, along with side dishes like farofa (toasted cassava flour), and rice and beans.
For dessert, Brazilians have rabanada, a fried bread like French toast, and panettone, a sweet bread filled with candied papaya. Other popular treats include brigadeiros (chocolate truffles) and beijinhos (coconut sweets).
Christmas dinner in Europe has a long history going back many centuries. Over the years, each region added its own touch, adopting new cooking methods from trade with other cultures. Today, European Christmas traditional dinners reflect a mix of traditional and modern flavors from around the world.
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United Kingdom: Roast Turkey and Christmas Pudding
The United Kingdom’s Christmas meals often include roast turkey with stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, and bread sauce. Common side dishes are roasted potatoes, carrots, peas, parsnips, and Brussels sprouts. Pigs in blankets, which are sausages wrapped in bacon, are a must-have traditional Christmas Eve dinner.
For dessert, Christmas pudding, a traditional Christmas Eve dinner with fruit soaked in brandy, is lit on fire before serving. Mince pies, small pastries filled with dried fruits and spices, are also popular during the holiday season.
Why is turkey eaten at Christmas in the UK?The tradition of eating turkey at Christmas in the UK dates back to King Henry VIII, who made it popular for festive meals because of its size. Later, in the 19th century, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, along with Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” popularized even more. Today, turkey is a traditional part of Christmas dinners in the UK.
Italy: Feast of the Seven Fishes and Panettone
Italians don’t eat meat on Christmas Eve; they eat fish and seafood instead. Surprising, right?
Italian Christmas meals often include the Feast of the Seven Fishes on Christmas Eve, with seafood dishes like swordfish, tuna, salmon, octopus salad, squid, salted cod, smelts, calamari, and spaghetti with clam sauce. Another traditional Christmas Eve dinner is the classic Italian salted cod, called baccalà. Side dishes often include vegetables, salads, and a variety of cheeses.
For dessert, panettone is a traditional Christmas Eve dinner —a sweet bread with candied fruits and raisins. In some areas, people also enjoy torrone (nougat) and struffoli (fried dough with honey). On Christmas Day, meals may have pasta dishes, roasted meats like lamb, and regional sweets.
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Germany: Stollen
Traditional Christmas meals in Germany are roast goose or duck served with potato dumplings and red cabbage. Stollen is the favorite holiday treat, sweet bread with fruit and powdered sugar. Germans also enjoy Lebkuchen (gingerbread cookies) and glühwein (hot spiced wine). On Christmas Eve, some regions serve simpler dishes, like carp or potato salad with sausages.
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Philippines: Lechón and Bibingka
Philippine Christmas cannot miss Lechón, a whole slow-roasted pig with crispy skin at Noche Buena, the midnight feast. Filipino families often cook Bibingka, a rice cake made with coconut milk with salted eggs and cheese on top, and Puto Bumbong, a purple rice cooked in bamboo tubes. The feast also has dishes like queso de bola (edam cheese), spring rolls, and fruit salad.
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Japan: KFC Fried Chicken
Can you imagine KFC for Christmas in Japan, land of sushi and ramen? Christmas in Japan is quite different from how it's celebrated in Western countries.
In Japan, the best food you can have on Christmas is KFC fried chicken. Many families order chicken buckets ahead of time for Christmas Eve or Day or prepare chicken dishes such as kara-age, or teriyaki chicken.
Another common food is Kurisumasu Keiki, a soft sponge cake topped with strawberries and whipped cream, sometimes even with a Santa Claus decoration. Turkeys are not common in Japan, so these foods have taken their place, creating festive meals and treats.
Christmas is not a Catholic religious holiday in Japan. Instead, it is seen as a fun or romantic time for the Japanese to enjoy lights and give gifts during this season.
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Australia and New Zealand: BBQ Shrimp and Pavlova
Christmas in Australia and New Zealand takes place during the summer. Therefore, it is celebrated outdoors with barbecued seafood like prawns and fish, plus cold meats and salads.
Pavlova, a meringue dessert with fruits like kiwis and berries, is also popular during the holidays. Families also enjoy festive ham, cold desserts, and ice cream. The warm Christmas weather shapes Australian and New Zealand traditions, focusing on light, fresh meals fit for summer.
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