Food is an important part of Christmas celebration around the world. Although most of the dishes typically associated with Christmas arose from British tradition, yet traditional Christmas foods differ from one social group to another depending on local availability and cultural significance. No matter what the religion or culture is, the typical Christmas festivity is a joint celebration for family and friends that involves a tempting cake and scrumptious food menu.

Few dishes which are becoming increasingly popular to be enjoyed on Christmas Day include:

Christmas special soup: This Christmas, start the dinner off with a warm and cosy soup. The options are many from cheesy broccoli cheddar to vegan cereal and hazelnut soup. These soups will keep you warm and hasty. On Christmas when it’s cold outside and cosy inside, rustling up some homemade smooth blends and chunkier broths having lots of vegetables as a starter is a healthy way of celebration.

Stuffed chicken: Eating stuffed chicken is a tradition dating back to the Middle Ages in many countries on various occasions. But it eventually became a part of the Christmas meal. Often stuffed with chestnuts, onion, garlic, apple, raisins and walnuts and flavoured with spices and herbs like nutmeg, cinnamon, rosemary and thyme, the chicken is served alongside red cabbage, dumplings and gravies. It is a spectacular dish to be served for Christmas lunch or dinner especially if served with a pan of perfectly roasted mixed vegetables. This dish will definitely impress your loved ones.

Fried potato pancakes: It is a traditional Christmas dish which is wonderful comfort food served with applesauce and sour cream for a light Christmas dinner. It can be served with roasted meat for a hearty Christmas meal. Potato pancakes can be made by grating potatoes by a hand grater or with the help of a food processor. However, the taste of hand-grated potato pancakes is superior to that of those grated in the food processor. The more you spread them thinner on a hot pan, the more they would be crispier and tastier.

Doughnuts: Making doughnuts on Christmas has long been a custom in France and Canada. It is a festive way to celebrate Christmas. Coated in sugar and cinnamon, these baked doughnuts are easy to make and delicious to eat. They have become a popular Christmas food all over the world.

Christmas pudding: This dessert is one of the most important Christmas traditional foods in England, Ireland and some parts of the United States Of America. It is also called as ‘plum pudding’ or just ‘pud’, though it does not contain plums. Actually, in pre-Victorian era, raisins were called as plums and this dry fruit is the key ingredient of this dessert. This pudding also contains many other dried fruits, rum and English beer. It is flavoured with cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. The pudding is usually aged for a month or more. The high alcohol content prevents it from spoiling.

Even if the foods are different from country to country, food traditions are an important part when it comes to Christmas celebration.