What do other counties have for Christmas?
Australia: On Christmas Eve snacks are left out for Father Christmas (cookies and milk, or maybe some beer?) and water for the kangaroos that pull his sleigh while in Australian airspace.
Austria: A typical Christmas dinner would consist of braised carp served with gingerbread and beer sauce, but as in many countries turkey is becoming more popular. Christmas baking is a tradition, with dozens of cookie varieties, cakes and Christstollen bread.
Germany: The Germans tend to have a game feast on Christmas day, usually wild boar or venison. According to German tradition, partaking in a roast of pork dinner on Christmas Eve will prevent evil and promote prosperity in the New Year.
Ireland: There are 3 special puddings made for the holidays; one for Christmas, one for New Year’s and another for Twelfth Night.
Italy: Tortellini is a specialty of the Bolognese Christmas dinner (filled with turkey, ham, and sausage forcemeat).
Ireland: Turkey with whiskey glaze – whiskey and honey together with a splash of orange will give an impressive and great tasting twist to the traditional bird.
British Turkey Information Service (www.britishturkey.co.uk)
Jamaica: Christmas dinner usually consists of rice, gungo peas, chicken, ox tail and curried goat.
Mexico: In Oaxaca, Mexico, Christmas Eve is also the Night of the Radishes, when large radishes are cut into animal shapes.
Netherlands: The Dutch eat chicken stuffed with sauerkraut at Christmas to mark the end the year and celebrate the beginning of the New Year. The reason for chicken? Because the animal scratches the ground, it symbolizes scratching the earth over the old year.
Norway: The big festive feast takes place on Christmas Eve. Most people around the coastal regions eat fish – concoctions of cod and haddock and a variety called lutefisk. Inland they go for pork chops, specially prepared sausages and occasionally lamb.
Poland: The traditional Christmas Eve supper consists of 12 non-meat dishes, representing the months of the year and featuring fish such as pike, herring and carp. Other typical Polish dishes are fish soup, sauerkraut with wild mushrooms or peas and Polish dumplings with various fillings.
Scotland: Rich tatties and neeps – a traditional dish made with mashed potatoes, Swede, carrots, onion and butter, garnished with chives and black pepper.
Sweden: Hiding an almond inside rice pudding is a Christmas custom in Sweden. Whoever gets it has good luck for the new year.
United Kingdom: The majority of families (90%) around the UK consider turkey a Christmas tradition. According to the British Turkey Information Service, UK residents consumed 10 million turkeys in 2000 for Christmas, along with 25 million Christmas puddings, 250 million pints of beer and 35 million bottles of wine.
Wales: Leek and onion sauce to accompany the turkey. Leeks, onion, cloves, breadcrumbs, milk, nutmeg and bay leaves blended to create a thick and creamy alternative to ordinary bread sauce.
Related posts: |
