United States Many Christmas customs in the United States have been adopted from those in the United Kingdom, although customs from other countries are also found. Accordingly, the mainstays of the British table are also found in the United States: roast turkey (or other poultry), beef, ham, or pork; stuffing or dressing, corn, squash, green beans, and mashed potatoes are common.
(pumpkin pie)
Dessert often reflects the ethnic background of the participants, but examples include pumpkin pie, marzipan, pfeffernusse, sugar cookies, panettone, fruitcake, apple pie, carrot cake, bûche de Noël, and mince pie.
(popcorn balls)
Children often help their parents in the kitchen making the meal and often get special sweet rewards, like popcorn balls, gingerbread houses, and candy canes, the last usually munched on as they are hung on the tree.
(Turkey teriyaki)
The centerpiece of a sit-down meal varies on the tastes of the host but can be ham or roast beef, particularly since turkey is the mainstay at dinner for the American holiday of Thanksgiving in November, almost exactly one month earlier. Regional meals offer incredible diversity. Hawaii has Turkey teriyaki and pork dishes, the latter a carryover from Polynesian and Asian traditions, and often seasoned accordingly with fresh pineapple or soy sauce concoctions.
(fluffy biscuits)
Virginia has oysters, ham pie, and fluffy biscuits, a nod to its very English 17th century founders. The Upper Midwest includes dishes from predominately Scandinavian backgrounds such as lutefisk and mashed rutabaga or turnip.
(corn pudding)
New England often has desserts like corn pudding or plates with linguiça sausage, respectively from Native American and old Portuguese recipes.
(empañaditas)
In the Southwest and portions of California, both with distinct Spanish heritage and large Hispanic populations, a traditional Christmas dinner might include posole, tamales, empañaditas (mincemeat turnovers) and biscochitos. In some rural areas, game meats like elk or quail may grace the table, often prepared with recipes that are extremely old: it is likely that similar foodstuffs graced the tables of early American settlers on their first Christmases.
(latkes)
In the United States, it is increasingly not unheard of for people of very different ethnic backgrounds to gather around the table, especially on Christmas Eve when it is common to receive friends as guests and have parties. Thus, dishes that have been handed down over generations often mix at the table; a feast can include an old Neapolitan recipe for eel as a dish, a plate of black eyed peas (African-American origin) and desserts of French-Canadian origin. As the Christmas season often runs very close to Hannukah and the U.S. has an extremely large Jewish population, many Christian Americans often invite their Jewish neighbors and friends over for dinner as a sign of goodwill and love: sometimes (and especially in families where more than one religion exists) one shall see a plate of latkes on the table and small bags of chocolate coins for the children alongside the candy canes.
Source: bbs.readnovel.com |
Christmas Eve is historically the day that the tree is decorated and lit with real candles, so that the Christkindl may visit. Christmas Day is a national holiday in Austria and most Austrians spend the day feasting with their family.
Accompanying these are bowls of zesty, colorful rice and platters filled with ham and fresh salad (sometimes cold potato salad is also served) served with roast turkey. Also in some parts of Brazil features roast pork, roast Chicken and fish.
A traditional Christmas meal in the Czech Republic is fried carp and potato salad. This tradition started after excessive increase of fishpond cultivation in the Baroque era.
In Denmark the traditional Christmas meal served on December 24 consists of roast pork with crackling, goose, duck, or different combinations of these. The meat is served along with potatoes (some of which are caramelised), red cabbage, and plenty of gravy.
Joulupöytä (translated “Christmas table”) is the name of the traditional food board served at Christmas in Finland, similar to the Swedish smörgåsbord. It contains many different dishes, most of them typical for the season. The main dish is usually a large Christmas ham, which is eaten with mustard or bread along with the other dishes. Fish is also served (often lutefisk and gravlax), and with the ham there are also laatikot, casseroles with liver and raisins, as well as potatoes, rice, and carrots.The traditional Christmas beverage is either alcoholic or non-alcoholic mulled wine (glögi in Finnish).
The beverage served is traditionally Champagne.
In Germany the primary Christmas dishes are roast goose and roast carp, although suckling pig or duck may also be served. Typical side dishes include roast potatoes and various forms of cabbage such as kale, brussel sprouts and red cabbage.
In Mexico the Christmas dinner, eaten on Christmas Eve evening, varies with region. Common dishes are various fruits (oranges, lime, tropical fruits) and salad (composed of several ingredients including jícama, beets, bananas, and peanuts).In several states, however, stews are made: either pozole, made of pork or beef and hominy in red chile sauce; or menudo made with beef tripe and hominy also in chile sauce. In the center of Mexico, bacalao (codfish) and romeritos (rosemary) prepared with mole are popular dishes.
On Christmas Eve (Noche Buena), the extended family join together for a succulent dinner around the turkey, stuffed with ground beef and peanuts and decorated with fresh slices of pineapple and cherries; roast potatoes and apple sauce.
The dinner usually consists of roast turkey (although other types of poultry such as goose, chicken, duck, capon or pheasant are common alternatives depending on the number of diners), sometimes with roast beef or ham or, to a lesser extent, pork.
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