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Think Christmas Dinner and the first image that comes to mind is a table groaning under the weight of a spread fit for kings – roast turkey, mashed or roast potatoes, cranberry sauce, steamed veggies and other trimmings, all characteristic of a typical Christmas meal.

Well, ancient customs and native traditions have combined to influence what lands up on the table on Christmas Day for families in different countries around the world. Let’s embark on a culinary journey around the globe and see what people gorge on for their Christmas Dinner!

Traditionally, Christmas Dinner is the primary meal that is eaten either on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.

UK and Ireland
Interestingly, the Britons did not eat roast turkey as the traditional Christmas meal till about 1650. In Medieval England, the main fare was always roast goose, peacock or boar, with the last being more popular. It was only when the French Jesuits imported turkey into Great Britain from Europe that it began to grace Christmas dinner tables from the 1700s onwards. Today, of course, it is unthinkable to image Christmas dinner without roast turkey and all the other trimmings. A typical Christmas spread (mostly in the afternoons) consists of roast turkey, served with cranberry sauce, bread sauce, roast potatoes, steamed Brussels sprouts and carrots, with the Christmas pudding bringing up the grand finale. Mince pies are equally a must-have accompaniment to the Christmas meal.

Australia
Since Christmas falls during the summer season in the Southern hemisphere, meats like chicken, ham and turkey are more popularly served cold as the traditional Christmas dinner. Seafood is another popular option, specially barbecued shrimps and prawns. Dessert could be a baked meringue topped by the fruit in the season – mangoes or cherries.

Austria
Christmas Eve in Austria brings to an end the pre-Christmas fasting. Christmas is a national holiday in the country and Austrians normally spend the day feasting and enjoying with their family members. Typical dishes for the traditional Christmas dinner include fried carp, roast goose and ham served with mulled wine and fruit punch. The meal is usually rounded off with rich chocolate mousse.

Brazil
Christmas is celebrated with all the fervour of a carnival in this South American country! The Christmas meal is nothing short of a feast and is served on Christmas Eve (24 December). Roast turkey, fresh vegetables like kale, seasonal fruits and Brazil nuts form a prominent part of the lavish meal. Roast pork, roast chicken and fish are also consumed in many parts of Brazil. A variety of desserts such as lemon tart, chocolate cake and pies are consumed.

Czech Republic
A departure from the traditional roast turkey can be seen in the Czech Republic’s Christmas dinner that typically consists of fried carp and a potato salad. A vast quantity of Christmas cookies is baked by families, to offer friends and relatives on Christmas day.

Denmark
Christmas dinner takes place on December 24 and includes roast pork with crackling, goose or duck. There is plenty of gravy, roast potatoes and red cabbage. The sweet dish is not the traditional plum pudding but a rich rice pudding served with cherry or strawberry sauce and filled with almonds. Mulled wine flows freely.

Finland
The Christmas fare in this Nordic country is more of a ‘Christmas table’, the traditional food board served at Christmas in Finland. Occupying centrestage is the typical large Christmas ham, which is usually eaten with mustard or bread in addition to a variety of other dishes. There is also fish, casseroles with liver, potatoes, rice and carrots.

France
The French enjoy their Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve in anticipation of staying awake till midnight and beyond. Topping the list of dishes are goose or duck liver (foie gras), oysters, smoked salmon, lobster, and roasted stuffed duck, goose or turkey. A sumptuous and traditional Christmas cake called ‘La Buche de Nol or a Yule log is relished on this day. It is a rich flavoured cream cake shaped like a log. The typical drink is…you guessed it, champagne!

Germany
The traditional Christmas dinner is served either on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day itself, and consists mostly of roast goose and roast carp. Roasted suckling pig or duck also finds its way on many tables. Cabbage and its varieties like kale, Brussels sprouts and red cabbage dominate the side dishes which also include roast potatoes. Christmas pastries include marzipan, spice bars, and several types of fruit breads.

Lithuania, Ukraine and Poland
These three Eastern European countries are noted for their elaborate 12-meal Christmas Eve supper. This ritualised meal consists of twelve meatless dishes in honour of the 12 apostles of Christ. The stress on vegetarian fare is because the time leading up to Christmas is observed with fasting and praying. There is no meat, eggs or milk and so the dishes are dominated by fish, mushrooms and all sorts of grains.

Philippines
Known as Noche Buena by the locals, the traditional Christmas dinner in the Philippines is very much a family affair. It is enjoyed after the entire family has attended the late evening or the Midnight Mass. Pork has a strong presence in this South East Asian country and the mainstay of the Christmas dinner is the Christmas ham. It is served with an Edam cheese ball – a popular Christmas season dish. Affluent Filipino families may also serve spit-roasted pig, stuffed chicken, spicy beef stew and other top favourite Filipino dishes. Hot chocolate is the popular beverage during Christmas in the Philippines.

Long live the cuisines of the world!

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Christmas is not about the presents under the tree, the decorations and the lights, the concerts or the fancy meals. It’s not about shopping, snow, caroling, or Santa Clause. True Christmas is found in the first syllable of the very word itself, who is all too often forgotten. Christmas is about Christ! And while all of the festivities, traditions, and activities that accompany this holiday are certainly appropriate and extremely fun, we must ensure that we never forget the significance of why we celebrate in the first place. And perhaps true Christmas is discovered, enjoyed, and made evident only when our actions reflect the actions and character of Him whose birth we commemorate. He loved His lambs, He fed His lambs, and He continues to feed His lambs; our great opportunity is to allow Him to feed His lambs through the service and giving of you and me.

Below is listed not only giving and service opportunities that help us participate in the true meaning of Christmas, but also fun Christmas activities and traditions that can be enjoyed by families and people everywhere:

1) Purpose of the Holiday: First and most importantly, ensure that in the midst of all the fun festivities, parties, gift exchanges, traditions, delicious meals and chocolate, and especially the anticipation of Santa Clause – that you make time to remember Him, and the real Reason why we celebrate this season!

2) ‘Adopt a Family’: Find a local family that may be struggling or has very little, and anonymously give them Christmas. For 12 days, drop off food one night, clothes the next, books, toys, kind notes, treats, etc. (or just drop it all off at once).

3) ‘Draw Names’: On Dec. 1st, each child will draw the name of another sibling or parent – and that is who they have to get a present for Christmas that year. One year, have it be a funny gift; the next year have it be a ‘no-cost’ present where everyone can not spend money; another year each person has to actually make/create their gift; or just buy the gift for the individual; etc.

4) Yearly Ornaments: Each year, every child will get to make/create a new ornament to hang on the tree.

5) Hang Mistletoe: Enough said right!

6) Family Sleepover: On Christmas Eve, the whole family will campout together in the same room. Obviously this can’t be in the room with the tree, but upstairs/downstairs or in a bedroom – all the kids (and Dad/Mom) will sleep out together.

7) Yearly Christmas Tree Outing: All the men and boys each year will go out on Dec. 1st and find the Christmas tree. While gone, the women will make a warm meal for everyone to eat when the guys get home. That evening, everyone will decorate the tree, listen to Christmas music, make the house festive for the season, and just play games and spend the evening together.

Nightly Christmas Stories: For each night in December, read a Christmas story or book, a holiday poem, the symbols of Christmas, or the words to a Christmas carol.

9) Christmas Eve Present: Allow each child to open one present on Christmas Eve.

10) Nativity Sets & Ginger-Bread Houses: Each year as a family, make a new Nativity set (or have each child make their own). Use paper, play dough, cardboard, cardstock, etc. Also, set aside one night to make Ginger Bread Houses together.

11) Secret Santa Care Packages: Identify a child who is sick at the hospital, some children from the orphanage, various people at the homeless shelter, family in need, or even a child in a developing country (work with your local non-profit) – and each member in the family (even the kids) will donate money, items, and time in putting together these care packages for people in need. Deliver it anonymously, or in person so children can feel and see the joy of giving.

12) Christmas Lights Drive: As a family, hop in the car and make it a yearly tradition to just drive around neighborhoods and downtown looking at Christmas lights. Take candy, of course!

13) Read the Christmas Story: Perhaps make Christmas Eve the night to talk about the ‘true’ meaning of and significance of Christmas. Read the account of Christ’s birth from the Bible, talk about it, or perhaps even for fun – have the kids act it out. Then, the 25th can be the day of fun and presents.

14) Mini Tree: With little kids, allow each of them to have their own little Christmas tree that they can decorate however they want – and they can keep it in their rooms.

15) Giving Tree: Set up a tree at the local schools, Churches, and community centers. Have paper ornaments on each tree with a random items that people will donate. Items could be: food, clothes, toys, books, money, toiletries, etc. Then, have a large box where people can come back and drop off their donated items. Then, give these items to local families/individuals in need. Give them to the local Salvation Army, Orphanage, Homeless Shelter, or Non-Profit.

16) Dec 1st Kickoff: Make the first day in December the official day the family starts Christmas celebrations and decorations. Make some hot cocoa, popcorn, turn on the Christmas music, and get the family together. Decorate the house, put up the tree, and just spend the night playing games and having fun together.

17) Gift to Christ: Each year as a family, and especially personally, determine something you will do as an expression of gratitude for what Christ did for you. Break a habit, develop a talent, mend a relationship, or become a better person/family in some way.

18) Christmas Giving: As a family, do one or many of the following each year: visit a nursing home or homeless shelter and take small gifts for people, make a meal or treat for a new neighbor or someone in need, invite a widowed woman or someone who is alone to share a meal, shovel snow for Elderly neighbors, etc.

19) Christmas Culture Night: Learn about how other cultures, countries, and religions celebrate Christmas.

20) Yearly Christmas Fun: Yet, in the midst of it all – have FUN! Every year, make it a tradition to do one or many of the following fun activities: go sledding, make snowmen, go to the beach, go skiing, ice skating, a performance, to a cabin, have a Christmas movie and popcorn night, have an extended family or neighborhood Christmas party gift exchange, etc. Perhaps one night you can specifically set aside as ‘Christmas Family Night’ and just be together. Get Pizza, rent a movie, play games, have a campout in the family room, etc.

Perhaps it was the great Dr. Seuss who summed it up best when he so perfectly penned: “And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled ’till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.” Thus, Christmas and giving is not determined by price, but in how we give and act – the season’s about Christ!

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Christmas is not about the presents under the tree, the decorations and the lights, the concerts or the fancy meals. It’s not about shopping, snow, caroling, or Santa Clause. True Christmas is found in the first syllable of the very word itself, who is all too often forgotten. Christmas is about Christ! And while all of the festivities, traditions, and activities that accompany this holiday are certainly appropriate and extremely fun, we must ensure that we never forget the significance of why we celebrate in the first place. And perhaps true Christmas is discovered, enjoyed, and made evident only when our actions reflect the actions and character of Him whose birth we commemorate. He loved His lambs, He fed His lambs, and He continues to feed His lambs; our great opportunity is to allow Him to feed His lambs through the service and giving of you and me.

Below is listed not only giving and service opportunities that help us participate in the true meaning of Christmas, but also fun Christmas activities and traditions that can be enjoyed by families and people everywhere:

1) Purpose of the Holiday: First and most importantly, ensure that in the midst of all the fun festivities, parties, gift exchanges, traditions, delicious meals and chocolate, and especially the anticipation of Santa Clause – that you make time to remember Him, and the real Reason why we celebrate this season!

2) ‘Adopt a Family’: Find a local family that may be struggling or has very little, and anonymously give them Christmas. For 12 days, drop off food one night, clothes the next, books, toys, kind notes, treats, etc. (or just drop it all off at once).

3) ‘Draw Names’: On Dec. 1st, each child will draw the name of another sibling or parent – and that is who they have to get a present for Christmas that year. One year, have it be a funny gift; the next year have it be a ‘no-cost’ present where everyone can not spend money; another year each person has to actually make/create their gift; or just buy the gift for the individual; etc.

4) Yearly Ornaments: Each year, every child will get to make/create a new ornament to hang on the tree.

5) Hang Mistletoe: Enough said right!

6) Family Sleepover: On Christmas Eve, the whole family will campout together in the same room. Obviously this can’t be in the room with the tree, but upstairs/downstairs or in a bedroom – all the kids (and Dad/Mom) will sleep out together.

7) Yearly Christmas Tree Outing: All the men and boys each year will go out on Dec. 1st and find the Christmas tree. While gone, the women will make a warm meal for everyone to eat when the guys get home. That evening, everyone will decorate the tree, listen to Christmas music, make the house festive for the season, and just play games and spend the evening together.

Nightly Christmas Stories: For each night in December, read a Christmas story or book, a holiday poem, the symbols of Christmas, or the words to a Christmas carol.

9) Christmas Eve Present: Allow each child to open one present on Christmas Eve.

10) Nativity Sets & Ginger-Bread Houses: Each year as a family, make a new Nativity set (or have each child make their own). Use paper, play dough, cardboard, cardstock, etc. Also, set aside one night to make Ginger Bread Houses together.

11) Secret Santa Care Packages: Identify a child who is sick at the hospital, some children from the orphanage, various people at the homeless shelter, family in need, or even a child in a developing country (work with your local non-profit) – and each member in the family (even the kids) will donate money, items, and time in putting together these care packages for people in need. Deliver it anonymously, or in person so children can feel and see the joy of giving.

12) Christmas Lights Drive: As a family, hop in the car and make it a yearly tradition to just drive around neighborhoods and downtown looking at Christmas lights. Take candy, of course!

13) Read the Christmas Story: Perhaps make Christmas Eve the night to talk about the ‘true’ meaning of and significance of Christmas. Read the account of Christ’s birth from the Bible, talk about it, or perhaps even for fun – have the kids act it out. Then, the 25th can be the day of fun and presents.

14) Mini Tree: With little kids, allow each of them to have their own little Christmas tree that they can decorate however they want – and they can keep it in their rooms.

15) Giving Tree: Set up a tree at the local schools, Churches, and community centers. Have paper ornaments on each tree with a random items that people will donate. Items could be: food, clothes, toys, books, money, toiletries, etc. Then, have a large box where people can come back and drop off their donated items. Then, give these items to local families/individuals in need. Give them to the local Salvation Army, Orphanage, Homeless Shelter, or Non-Profit.

16) Dec 1st Kickoff: Make the first day in December the official day the family starts Christmas celebrations and decorations. Make some hot cocoa, popcorn, turn on the Christmas music, and get the family together. Decorate the house, put up the tree, and just spend the night playing games and having fun together.

17) Gift to Christ: Each year as a family, and especially personally, determine something you will do as an expression of gratitude for what Christ did for you. Break a habit, develop a talent, mend a relationship, or become a better person/family in some way.

18) Christmas Giving: As a family, do one or many of the following each year: visit a nursing home or homeless shelter and take small gifts for people, make a meal or treat for a new neighbor or someone in need, invite a widowed woman or someone who is alone to share a meal, shovel snow for Elderly neighbors, etc.

19) Christmas Culture Night: Learn about how other cultures, countries, and religions celebrate Christmas.

20) Yearly Christmas Fun: Yet, in the midst of it all – have FUN! Every year, make it a tradition to do one or many of the following fun activities: go sledding, make snowmen, go to the beach, go skiing, ice skating, a performance, to a cabin, have a Christmas movie and popcorn night, have an extended family or neighborhood Christmas party gift exchange, etc. Perhaps one night you can specifically set aside as ‘Christmas Family Night’ and just be together. Get Pizza, rent a movie, play games, have a campout in the family room, etc.

Perhaps it was the great Dr. Seuss who summed it up best when he so perfectly penned: “And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled ’till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.” Thus, Christmas and giving is not determined by price, but in how we give and act – the season’s about Christ!

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