Christmas dinners: The traditional feasts from around the WORLD
CHRISTMAS dinner for Brits traditionally includes a roast turkey with all the trimmings - but if you are holidaying abroad for the festivities this year, you have a very different menu.
The traditional feasts had over Christmas from around the world
For many Brits Christmas day is all about the food, the drink and of course the presents.
Traditionally a Christmas dinner, eaten in the afternoon consists of a roast turkey with stuffing, served with roasted veg including brussels sprouts, carrots and honey-glazed parsnips, and roast potatoes.
Mulled wine, cheese boards, christmas puddings usually follow the dinner.
But if this year you are celebrating Christmas in Australia, Japan, Germany or any other country you may have a very different menu.
Here Express.co.uk has listed some traditional Christmas menu’s from around the world.
Christmas dinner in the UK is usually a roast turkey with all the trimmings
Australia
Christmas dinner down under is largely based on the English version, but because it falls in the summer, meats such as ham, turkey and chicken are often served cold with cranberry sauce.
Barbecued seafoods such as prawns, lobster, oysters and crayfish have become more popular for a Christmas day lunch. Dessert on the day includes pavlova, trifle and fresh seasonal fruit.
US
Much of Christmas traditions in the US have been adopted from the UK. However, as the UK’s roast turkey lunch is eaten a month earlier for Thanksgiving, Christmas dinner varies across the regions.
Popular meats include ham, beef and goose. In Virginia oysters, ham pie and fluffy biscuits have become increasingly popular.
In Australia Christmas is in the summer so barbecues and seafood are popular
Canada
Christmas dinner in the most northern American state is very similar to the English.
They have the roast turkey with similar trimmings. Dessert usually consists of pumpkin or apple pie, raisin pudding, Christmas pudding or fruitcake. Canadians also bake Christmas cookies, butter tarts and shortbreads for guests.
France
In France and many French speaking countries at Christmas they have something called the réveillon. It it traditionally eaten on Christmas eve or early Christmas morning, after the midnight church service
The réveillon is a long dinner and dishes include roast turkey with chestnuts or roast goose, oysters, foie gras, lobster, venison and various cheeses.
Portugal
Dried and salted codfish is a traditional on Christmas eve in Portugal and is served with boiled cabbage, potatoes and various other vegetables.
Venison is one of the dishes served in France at Christmas
Germany
The most common Christmas dishes in Germany are roast gooses or roast carp - although suckling pig or duck are sometimes served now.
This is usually served with roast potatoes, red cabbage, kale and brussels sprouts.
Japan
On December 25, a Japanese Christmas cake is often served. This is a white sponge cake with cream and strawberries.
Since the 1970s, after a successful advertising campaign, eating KFC around Christmas has become some what of a tradition. KFC’s chicken meals have become so popular in Japan that the fast food retailer even takes reservation months in advance.
Italy
North and South Italy have slight variations in their Christmas meals and is often had on Christmas eve.
In both regions the first dish is soup made with filled totalling pasta in a meat or capon broth. The second dish, in the north is any meat, stuffed than roasted or billed and seasoned with sauces like mustard. However, in the south a fried caption eel or roast lamb is traditionally eaten.
In Japan KFC is very popular around Christmas
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Cheese board is a popular dessert in many countries, especially France
Phillippines
The Philippines Christmas dinner is a pre-hispanic traditional known as Noche Buena. It held around midnight on Christmas eve after the late evening mass.
A cured let of pork served with a ball of edam cheese called quest de bola is the staple of the dinner. This is often accompanied by pasta.
Brazil
The Christmas meal in Brazil is a feast served on December 24. It includes platters of ham, roast turkey and in some parts roast pork and fish.
Accompanying the meat is kale highly seasoned with garlic, Brazil nuts, rice, fresh salad, potatoes salad and fruit. And for dessert there is lemon tart, nuts pie, chocolate cake and panettone.
Poland
Polish people have a vegetarian feast on Christmas eve known as Wigilia. It begins with everyone sharing the Christmas wafer, oplatek and everyone wishes good things for the upcoming new year.
Then they tuck into the main meal which often consist of 12 dishes including: cuffed carp; fried carp; herring in wine sauce; herring in a cream sauce; fruit compote; vegetable salad; beetroot, mushroom or fish soup, boiled potatoes, sauerkraut and makowiec.