Christmas Foods: Merely a Merry Christmas without them

Christmas brings with it a spark of joy among the Christ-followers. After all, it is the birthday of their supreme. Besides Christians, people all over the world following various other religions celebrate Christmas in spectacular fashion. When we hear Christmas, the first thing we think about is chilling cold right? Hah! No, we think about families getting together, celebrating, gifting each other and sharing the love. Also what people do is eat delicious foods and give their taste buds different flavors to act upon. So it is a good time to talk about Christmas foods that the world consumes during the Christmas period.

Top on the list of the Christmas foods is the Christmas Dinner

Christmas dinner, as the name suggests, is a meal eaten particularly at Christmas. The inclusions vary according to variation in climate, topography as well as the culture of the country. The major presence in the dinner list, however, is of meat items. For instance, Americans and Europeans normally eat roasted fowls or beef depending upon their preferences. Asians, however, prefer chicken or mutton. As a side meal, people tend to keep vegetable items such as mashed potatoes or stuffed potatoes. A Christmas cake is considered to be mandatory as a dessert.

Alongside this whole food choice, wine as a beverage is very popular in the culture especially at the time of Christmas.

Credits: Pexels/ Pic Jumbo

Fun Fact: “Kristmas” Fried Chicken (KFC): In Japan, people usually storm in their nearest KFC, a fast-food chain to get the fried chicken from the Multinational Franchise. This is due to the brilliant marketing strategy of the then KFC executives in Japan where Christmas was just another foreign trend.

Mulled Wine

Wine is holy in Christianity. Jesus Christ was supposedly the one who turned water into wine by simply touching it. Mulled wine is a type of beverage usually made by mixing red wine with Mulling spices and heating it. This is a drink that people usually drink in winter more specifically during Christmas. Although the spice inclusions have changed over the course of the centuries, the major ingredients are the same as the ones used by the Romans during the second century.

Brandy Butter

Brandy Butter is a sweet dessert made by creaming butter and sugar with brandy (Spirit produced via Distilled wine). People typically serve it with Christmas foods like pudding or fruitcakes and gingerbread during the Christmas season. Brandy butter is typically called “Hard Sauce” which is a spread having the consistency of butter. Usually, people make it during Christmas in an ample amount and store it to consume later during the New Year period as well.

Gingerbreads

Photo: Pexels/ Ana Rocha

Gingerbreads are among the popular foods people consume during Christmas. The name itself refers to a broad category of baked items having usually a ginger flavor. The gingerbreads might be shaped into any form depending upon the will of a person who is baking it. In British culture, gingerbreads typically take the shape of a man commonly called “The gingerbread man”. They are usually a hard cookie with ginger flavor.

Brussels Sprout

Brussels Sprout is a leafy, relatively small member of the Cabbage family grown particularly for its edible buds. The buds usually look like miniature cabbages being roughly the size of a pea grain. Since the buds were popular in Brussels hence the name Brussels Sprout. Families eat Brussels sprouts during Christmas as the major ingredient of different recipes or food items. Usually, people fry or roast them along and include them with small chunks of meat or fruits before serving.

Christmas pudding

People consume Christmas pudding, particularly during the Christmas period. The ingredients of the Christmas pudding consists of 13 different elements (like) symbolizing Jesus Christ and the twelve apostles. But nowadays the recipe varies according to households.

Well Christmas is here and it is about family, holidays, celebrations as much as it is about Christmas foods. We hope you enjoy this holiday season to the fullest with family and delicacies. And don’t worry about gaining a few pounds, it’s worth it.

Bon Appetit!