Christmas Food: 10 Traditional Christmas Dishes from Around the World
Christmas food is at the heart of the season: the whole family sits down at one table, and the menu is always more special than on an ordinary day.
Here are 10 traditional Christmas dishes from the UK, France, Scandinavia and Portugal, plus the classics on an English Christmas table and how Thailand celebrates with food.
Before the table, the tree: at Macrame by Nicha we design and make our own cotton Christmas ornaments in Thailand, to dress your home for the feast.
10 traditional Christmas food dishes for the whole family
As the season gets closer, people shop for Christmas decorations such as Christmas baubles, ribbons, wreaths and the tree itself.
Shopping for the ingredients of a special meal is just as much part of the tradition. Here are the festive dishes of each country.
1. Christmas roast turkey (UK and US)
Roast turkey is the centrepiece of the Christmas table in the UK and the US. Turkey reached England in 1523, and the turkey Christmas dinner became the British norm in the 1950s.
It comes with crisp roast potatoes and little sausages wrapped in bacon, the famous "pigs in blankets". Add a few red and white candy canes to the table. The story that a Cologne choirmaster created the candy cane in 1670 is folklore.
2. Smalahove (Norway)
Smalahove is a smoked, salted sheep's head from Western Norway. It is eaten in the weeks before Christmas, during Advent.
3. Plateau de fruits de mer (France)
The French cold seafood platter, served on ice with shellfish, prawns and lobster. It is the starter of the réveillon (the Christmas Eve feast).
4. Tartiflette (France)
Tartiflette is a winter dish from Savoie, in the French Alps: potatoes, lardons, onion and melted Reblochon cheese. It is popular through the festive season.
5. Flæskesteg (Denmark)
Flæskesteg is Danish roast pork with crackling, served on Christmas Eve. After the meal, families sing, exchange gifts and dance around the Christmas tree (Pine Tree).
6. Janssons frestelse (Sweden)
Janssons frestelse is a Swedish bake of potatoes, onion, sprats and cream. It sits on the julbord (the Christmas buffet).
7. Risalamande (Denmark)
Risalamande is a Danish cold rice pudding with cream and chopped almonds, topped with cherry sauce. One whole almond hides in the bowl: whoever finds it wins the almond gift.
8. Cozido à portuguesa (Portugal)
Cozido à portuguesa is Portugal's national boiled meat stew, a winter dish of mixed meats, sausages and vegetables.
On Christmas Eve, the Portuguese dish is bacalhau da consoada (salt cod for the Christmas Eve supper).
9. Christmas pudding (UK)
The British Christmas pudding is a dark pudding packed with dried fruit. Its roots go back to medieval times.
10. Kylmäsavustettu lohi (Finland)
Kylmäsavustettu lohi means cold-smoked salmon in Finnish. It is served on the Christmas Eve table, the joulupöytä (Christmas table).
Christmas food culture in the West
Western Christmas meals go hand in hand with decorating the home for Christmas, inside and out.
Beyond celebrating the birth of Jesus, Christmas is a family day when everyone comes home. In many countries the special meals start on Christmas Eve, 24 December.
By tradition, the eldest in the family carves the turkey or the roast for everyone. The meal runs long, from savoury dishes to desserts, hot chocolate, wine and champagne.
The classic English Christmas menu
- Roast turkey: the centrepiece of the British and American Christmas dinner.
- Roast potatoes: crisp outside, soft inside, served with the roast.
- Pigs in blankets: small sausages wrapped in bacon, a UK staple.
- Mince pies: small pies of spiced fruit, which once contained meat.
- Yule log / bûche de Noël: a log-shaped cake, from the custom of burning a Yule log.
- Eggnog: a creamy egg drink, first linked to Christmas in 1793.
- Mulled wine / Glühwein: warm spiced wine for cold evenings.
How Thailand celebrates Christmas with food
In Thailand, Christmas food often means Bangkok hotel Christmas buffets, with whole roast turkey, honey-glazed ham, Yule log cake and gingerbread men.
Hosting at home instead? Here is how to set the dining table, Thai or international.
Christmas food FAQ
What is traditional Christmas food?
It depends on the country: roast turkey and Christmas pudding in the UK, a seafood platter at the French réveillon, roast pork and risalamande in Denmark, salt cod in Portugal.
Why do people eat turkey at Christmas?
Turkey reached England in 1523. The turkey Christmas dinner became the British norm in the 1950s and is now the classic centrepiece in the UK and the US.
What is eaten on Christmas Eve in Europe?
France opens the réveillon with a cold seafood platter, Denmark serves flæskesteg and risalamande, Portugal eats bacalhau da consoada and Finland lays cold-smoked salmon on the joulupöytä.
Whatever ends up on your plate, the heart of the season is love and sharing. Dress your table and tree for the feast, and message us if you would like our cotton ornaments.