European Christmas Dinners, here is the second part of our Christmas food traditions series! Missed the first part?
PART II – COUNTRIES IN SPOTLIGHT: UK AND IRELAND & GERMANY
UK & IRELAND
The British Christmas feast is somewhat similar to the American Thanksgiving meal. It’s served at lunchtime on Christmas day and normally revolves around roast turkey ‘with trimmings’, meaning an array of vegetables such as carrots, peas, parsnips, turnip and of course, the customary Brussel sprouts. Many Brits eat stuffing as a side dish, instead of stuffing the turkey. This is usually served with cranberry sauce and bread sauce.
Other quintessentially British Christmas foods to complete the feast are delicious roast potatoes, pigs in blankets, Yorkshire pudding and gravy, among others. For dessert, the British enjoy Christmas Pudding, Mince pies, Yule Log and loads of different chocolates.
The dinner table is always decorated with a Christmas Cracker for each person. When the crackers are pulled, a colorful party hat, a small toy and a festive joke fall out. The party hats are crown-shaped and it is believed they embody the ones of the Wise Men.
GERMANY
The Germans celebrate Christmas Eve with a light, meatless meal, when fish is being served, such as salmon or carp along with Kartoffelpuffer (potato fritters) and Sauerkraut. The traditional Christmas dinner features duck, goose or turkey, served with bread dumplings or a festive Serviettenknödel (a bread loaf-shaped ‘dumpling’). Other Germans also enjoy Roast venison – meat of roe deer usually served with red cabbage, Brussels sprouts and lingonberry sauce. For pudding, Germans serve Christstollen, one of the most well-known Christmas pastries in the world – and with good reason. It is a tasty fruit bread with nuts, spices and dried fruit coated with icing sugar. We know we will definitely have Stollen this year!
Keep an eye out for the last part of the series! We will show you what the Polish, Czechs, Slovaks and Romanians enjoy for Christmas.
