Christmas Around the World

Christmas is here and what better way to reflect than to explore cultural dishes from around the world. Celebrated in some form worldwide, Christmas globally contains specific cultural traditions.

Japan

In Japan, a Christmas staple is fried chicken! While tons of people opt for a homemade version of this dish— others order the chain KFC up to two months in advance. Some of the restaurants even dress Colonel Sanders as Santa Clause.

Italy

My personal favorite, Italians celebrate Christmas by having a feast of seven fishes. Originating in Southern Italy, Italian-Americans have continued to make this popular. It consists of seven seafood dishes, symbolic of the number seven, which is the most repeated number in the bible. Some popular dishes are baccala (salt cod), baked cod, fried calamari, fried shrimp, linguine with clam or lobster sauce, octopus salad, and shrimp cocktail.

Mexico

In Mexico, Christmas dinner starts a tad bit early! it's a tradition to gather together and eat dinner late at night with family on Christmas Eve. The meal includes typical dishes like tamales, bacalao (dried salt cod), pozole (a soup made of pork or chicken with garlic and chile), and buñuelos, fried dough with sugar. The holiday celebration continues to January 6th when they celebrate El Dia de los Reyes.

Poland

There’s no question that I had to mention Poland’s meat-free Christmas. If you’re expecting a turkey or a ham, think again! Wiglia in Poland begins when the first star appears in the sky. Traditionally, 12 dishes are served for dinner, which represent the 12 apostles. These include the very popular red borscht with tiny dumplings, mushroom soup, carp, herring, pierogi, braised sauerkraut, cabbage rolls, kutia (wheat berry pudding), gingerbread, poppyseed cake, and dried fruit— all of which are vegetarian!

Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous Happy New Year!