What’s cooking this Christmas? Some culinary traditions from around the world

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The day of celebration has finally arrived. Christmas is a joyous occasion which encourages people to come together and participate in the spirit of the festival. Among other things, most families plan an elaborate feast for their loved ones, as it gives them the chance to become the best hosts and to start the festival with great fanfare. But, whatever is put on the table varies from country to country. With so many cultures celebrating the festival, let’s take a look at the different Christmas food traditions from around the world. Read on.

Christmas pudding, United Kingdom

For people residing in the UK, Christmas is incomplete without the usual pudding. The dessert includes flour, eggs, molasses, spices, dried fruits, and more, and serves as a reminder when you’ve finished a sumptuous meal.

Fried chicken, Japan

Japanese families sometimes have to book their meals months in advance, as most of the country follows this tradition. (Source: Getty / Thinkstock)

Trust the Japanese to find something extremely unusual on Christmas Day. In Japan, the Christmas season calls for the consumption of Kentucky Fried Chicken, or KFC – a global fast food chain. So, families gather around the dinner table and eat fried chicken. The interesting thing is that they sometimes have to book their meals months in advance, as almost the whole country follows this tradition. It is believed that in the 1970s, KFC came up with an interesting marketing strategy, in which they told customers to follow this tradition in order to fill a “void”. The tradition was born then.

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Christmas goose, Germany

Christmas, Christmas 2019, Christmas food, Christmas food from around the world, Italy, Germany, Japan, Indian Express, Indian Express news The tradition of eating roast goose dates back to the Middle Ages, when it was associated with Saint-Martin. (Source: Getty / Thinkstock)

The Christmas feast for Germans revolves around roast goose, which is stuffed with apples, chestnuts, onions, prunes and served with red cabbage, gravy and potato dumplings. This tradition dates back to the Middle Ages and would have been initially associated with Saint-Martin.

Panettone, Italy

Christmas, Christmas 2019, Christmas food, Christmas food from around the world, Italy, Germany, Japan, Indian Express, Indian Express news The dried fruit panettone, a Christmas staple in Italy. (Source: Getty / Thinkstock)

Considered a gastronomic paradise, Italy has many culinary preparations and traditions when it comes to Christmas dinner. Among other things, there is the traditional “Feast of the Seven Fishes”, which includes seven different fish prepared in seven different ways. In addition, sweet dishes play an important role and in the north of the country people eat panettone. It is a cake made up of fruits, raisins, chocolates and nuts.

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Tamales, Costa Rica

Christmas, Christmas 2019, Christmas food, Christmas food from around the world, Italy, Germany, Japan, Indian Express, Indian Express news Each year, families in Costa Rica use their own secret recipe to prepare this dish. (Source: Getty / Thinkstock)

It’s a Christmas tradition that families follow year after year, using their own secret recipe. Tamales is basically a corn dough wrapped in a banana leaf and then steamed. The filling is mainly pork with beef and / or chicken, garlic, onions, potatoes, etc.

Saffron buns, Sweden

Christmas, Christmas 2019, Christmas food, Christmas food from around the world, Italy, Germany, Japan, Indian Express, Indian Express news A platter of freshly baked traditional Swedish saffron buns. (Source: Getty / Thinkstock)

The Swedes believe in a three-course meal, which is prepared every year at Christmas. For dessert, they have the sweet and yellow saffron buns, which take the shape of the alphabet ‘S’. Traditionally, it is believed that the eldest daughter should serve it to the family.

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