Big Christmas Culinary World Tour

We long for it. We wait for it. We talk about it. Then we feel guilty when we enjoy it. This is the Christmas food, a special and delicious food which millions of people enjoy on a special day. Forget about counting the kilos, and let your senses enjoy this Christmas culinary world tour prepared for your taste, hosted by my friends from all over the world. Enjoy! :)






Ayn, blogger Nurse-issistic Travels, The Philippines

Philippines is a country molded from different influences from Spanish to American or Japanese. All those years of foreign occupation made our culture seem like a mix of countries. Look no further than a Filipino's dining table. Our menus would have a scoop of Chinese, a teaspoon of American and a pinch of European, but of course it is 100% Filipino. 
Exactly at midnight on the 25th of December the whole family gathers around the table for a “Noche Buena” (Christmas Eve feast). The menu would usually include sweet ham, fruits and noodles (pancit) among others. We are Asians, and Asians love rice. So also expect a lot of dishes with rice as an ingredient. Oh, and by the way, I am “Cebuano”, I live on an island right in the middle of the Philippines, and we have typical dishes which you will not find at other parts of the country. Here are the typical ones. Puto is sticky rice cooked with coconut milk, a little sugar and ginger, always served with hot chocolate (sikwate) and sweet ripe mangoes. Bud-bud – Again, cooked with sticky rice, coconut milk, sugar and a little salt and wrapped in banana leaves, served with hot chocolate and mango. Keso or Keseo comes from the spanish word “Queso” which means cheese. Here in Cebu, Keso can only mean 1 thing, cheese made from salted water buffalo milk. It is salty and a bit sour with the consistency of cream cheese. You can eat it straight up, with rice or even use it as a spread for your bread. Either way, you'll love it! The difference between Keso and Keseo is that you can fry the Keseo whereas frying will melt the Keso but out of the banana-leaf packaging, they look exactly alike. Maayo'ng Pasko! (Merry Christmas)

. 
.
Nora, flight attendant in UAE, South-Africa

Christmas in South-Africa is a little different from the majority of the countries, as it is part of the summer holiday. On the 24th of December people gather together around 8pm and the start to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Because of the warm weather Christmas dinners are being prepared in front of the houses in open-air. The South-African kitchen is traditionally very similar to the British, which means roast turkey, lamb or beef with gravy potatoes and vegetables. The desert is malva or plum pudding. In the hot weather ice-cream can also be served.
 
Andrew, accountant, Egypt 

In Egypt Christians are Coptic Orthodox. We start fasting on the 7th of November, 45 days before Christmas. This means that we cannot eat anything that has to do with animals such as milk, yogurt, eggs, cheese, pork, chicken, butter, and of course we cannot eat meat. Fish and sea food, however, are allowed. So basically we eat everything using oil. We end fasting on the 6th of January with a mass, that starts at 7pm and ends at 12am. We can only eat after the mass, and when all the family gathers in the house of the grandfather (usually father's father).
Very typical food on Christmas Eve - after the mass - is fried poached eggs, Fatta (it’s a mix of rice, local bread, garlic, chicken soap), stew meat, ribs, Kofta (type of meat that is a mix of minced meat with onion and spices) and stuffed grape leaves. To drink we consume all the time red wine. Then comes the dessert that can be a cake. Then on Christmas day, the 7th of January, we have a hell of a lunch, preparing more typical kinds of food, the Molokheya (which is a type of vegetables which we cut into tiny pieces and we make a soup using the soup of chicken or meat), rice, fried chicken or a turkey, steaks and types of pasta like canelones. As for dessert we eat eastern sweets. Not to freak you out this food usually lasts for 3 days because it is impossible to finish it in one day :)





.
Ele, blogger Kūtvėlos kelionės ir klajonės, Lithuania

In Lithuania we have 12 dishes for Christmas. Some say it’s for 12 apostles, some say it’s for 12 months, but nobody knows for sure. We also have a tradition of putting hay under the table-cloth. This represents the fact that Jesus was born in the cattle-shed. Before the meal people draw one stick of hay. The one with the shortest stick is going to die next. Needless to say, this tradition is dying in the modern day, being the one with the shortest stick of hay is not cool. And 12 dishes do not just mean we have a good appetite (though we do, we do!). They come after a long period of Lent. It’s a time people have to abstain from pleasures like food and fun and to prepare spiritually for the birth of the Saviour, and at the end of this period of being serious in work and food people are really hungry (I mean those who observe the Lent, of course). However, certain countries could indulge in seafood during the Lent because this was not the forbidden food from meat. In Poland, they would even proclaim beaver to be fish and eat it. Fact. Well, it can swim, right? Definitely fish. Good news is drink also counts as food. 
There are no fixed rules as what dishes should be present on the Christmas table and it can be region specific but my Mom makes (or has me and my sister help make it, rather, because this isn’t a job for a single person) a couple of salads, herring, a couple of cold fish dishes, different pickles, meat in the jelly, and bakes a piece of white bread. We usually have duck as the main meal the other day. But the one food that is traditional and must be present on the table is “kūčiukai“. „Kūčios“ means Christmas Eve in Lithuanian. These are small roundish oven-baked pieces made from yeast dough, sometimes with poppy seed, that are traditionally eaten with milk.







.
Mariann, blogger, Hungary
 
Christmas Eve in Hungary is celebrated almost the same way as in many of the European countries, however there are some interesting differences in the traditions. The family gathers together in the evening of 24th December for a huge dinner. Firstly, we do not eat turkey, but we eat fish. This can be the famous Hungarian fish soup or fried fish with potato or vegetables. Then, for the dessert we have something with poppy seed, either the poppy-seed roll (Bejgli) or the poppy-seed dessert made of bread rolls (Mákos guba). We do not forget about the Christmas tree, as we decorate it with szaloncukor, chocolate wrapped in shiny foil. Interesting to know that every dish is a symbol. While fish and poppy-seed means wealth, fish is also a typical food during Lent. An even bigger difference, which makes the Hungarian Christmas unique is that when we finish dinner, we do not wait for Santa Claus to bring the presents. No! He already brought us some sweets into our winter boots on the night of 6th December. Who brings the presents during Christmas night in Hungary is the little Jesus. The next two days are about family and friend gatherings and big lunches and dinners, to make sure that one of our oaths for the New Year will be to lose that weight.

.
Bram, blogger Travel. Experience. Live., Belgium

Oh, how I love Christmas food. A typical Christmas Eve dinner at my grandmother’s house consists of at least four courses. Traditionally the women of the family cook the Christmas dinner. My grandmother, two aunts and mother each cook one of those four courses. In the late afternoon, after everyone has arrived and has found a seat in the living room, sparkling wine is served, among other alcoholic beverages, water and juices. Appetizers are enjoyed while opening the Christmas presents. Those appetizers usually are little snacks, such as cheeses, sausages, small fried snacks and stuffed mushrooms. Opening presents used to be my favorite part of the night when I was a kid. That has changed a little bit since I grew up. Now, I just prefer eating as much as I possibly can!
After all the presents have been given and opened, it will be time to move towards the dining room for our traditional Christmas meal. We start off with a small salad, usually with shrimp or fish. The second course is soup. The kind of soup depends on who makes it, but it always is some kind of vegetable soup, with bread rolls. My favorite course is the main course. Of course, the main ingredient is turkey! It comes with lots of different vegetables, again depending on who cooks, but usually there always are peas, carrots and asparagus. And potato croquettes. Croquettes are possibly my favorite kind of food! Normally there also is a choice of fish. Desserts are eaten at a much later time, when everybody is getting hungry again. A wide range of dessert is served. There is ice cream, fruit salads, chocolate mousse, various fruit mousses and the traditional rice pudding with sugar.






.
Felipe, Musician & guitarist Valladares, Chile
 
When summer starts and the temperature reaches 30 degrees in Santiago, when the days are getting the longest this time of the year, and when you feel like spending the afternoons besides the pool, that is the moment when Christmas time starts on the southern hemisphere. Christmas Eve is a special moment when most of the families gather together for dinner and children are excited about the arrival of Viejito Pascuero (Santa Claus). A typical dinner is a huge roasted turkey, decorated and served with various types of vegetables, accompanied with a good wine. A traditional alcoholic drink in Chile is the Cola de Mono (Monkey Tail), a home-made aperitif, typically made of brandy, coffee, sugar and cinnamon, to celebrate year-end events, such as Christmas or New Year or the days in between.
Another classic is the Pan de Pascua (Easter bread), which is a type of cake with lots of candied or dried fruits and nuts inside the dough. You will find this popular Christmas food filling the shelves of supermarkets, however other times of the year it is impossible to find it. Christmas in Chile has a Catholic origin. Nowadays it turned out to be more of a celebration for children, who enjoy these days the most. Adults are mainly satisfied by making their little ones happy, to gather together, and of course, to sip from the Monkey Tail.



.
Ximena, economist from Colombia, Japan

Spending my first Christmas in Japan was an interesting and unique experience, the country, its culture, traditions, people and food never stop surprising me. The main religion in Japan is Buddhism and Shintoism so there are no major celebrations for Christmas, in fact one of the surprising things for me was to see that people like to have Kentucky Fried Chicken on Christmas day, and it is common to find long queues in front of KFC.
New year on the other hand has many traditions and rituals full of different meanings. People eat soba, which is a kind of thin noodles with brown colour, and it implies a wish for a long life, and I guess it works because Japan has one of the longest life expectancy rates in the world! At the beginning of the year, what people eat is Osechi ryori, this is referred as on of the "most Japanese" of celebrations. The food is prepared several days in advance and the idea is to have osechi dishes for a couple of days. Everything is carefully packed in lacquered boxes, placing a lot of importance in the balance of colours and shapes. Many of the food items represent health, happiness, abundance, sunny days and fortune. Yellow coloured dishes represent prosperity, black beans imply a wish for good health and red, pink and white dishes represent celebrations colours. Nowadays people buy ready-made Osechi dishes with prices that start under ¥10,000 ($120) and some department stores start taking orders from October, and the most popular varieties sell out within a few days.



.

I would like to thank to my friends for sharing their Christmas traditions and that through their dishes we could peep into their homes and have a taste of their Christmas Eve. I wish all of you a Merry Christmas!
Kellemes Karácsonyi Ünnepeket! :)




Subscribe to tiny girl with big bag by Email
 Subscribe in a reader

About Tiny Girl With Big Bag

Hobby writer and autodidact photographer whose passion is to travel and get to know new people and cultures. She has been on 4 continents and 30 countries, and the outcome is this travel blog where she shares travel stories, thoughts, tips and photography always through a subjective eye.

Follow her @ Twitter | Facebook | Google+

16 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Thanks Andi :) Merry Christmas to you, too!

      Delete
    2. What a brilliant idea to let your friends from around the world explain their Christmas treats. I enjoyed this post very much.

      Delete
    3. Thanks inka, I am happy you enjoyed it. Again I learned a lot from my friends, indeed :) Wishing you a Merry Christmas!

      Delete
  2. Yes, we are about to start getting the stuff for our 12 dishes :-)Traffic jams are choking the city.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Keep up Ele, crossing fingers for you! And thanks again for this awesome writing! Merry Christmas to you :)

      Delete
  3. This post is brilliant! I had no idea how people celebrate Christmas in other places. Thanks for letting me contribute :-)

    And btw, I didn't know you got to get presents on December 6 in Hungary too? We've got the same tradition here in Belgium! Kids get presents then and on Christmas we give presents to all family members.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hah, I thought this tradition existed only in Hungary.. hehe, so you also get presents twice in December ;) Thanks for contributing to the article, I learned a lot about Belgium! Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year :)

      Delete
    2. On the night of December 5 'Sinterklaas' brings presents to children in Belgium and the Netherlands, along with chocolate and sweets. Sinterklaas is actually the original Santa Claus btw ;-).

      A very merry Christmas and happy New Year to you too!

      Delete
    3. Thats great! So Santa Claus has to visit Belgium, Netherlands and Hungary so far on the same night ;) We call ours Mikulás, which comes from San Nicolas. Thanks for sharing!

      Delete
  4. Nagyon tetszik ez az írásod is, ahogy a korábbiak is. :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nagyon köszi! Itt az érdem azoké, akik megírták nekem a Karácsonyukat :) Boldog Karácsonyt itt is!

      Delete
  5. Suddenly I am hungry all over again. Off to raid the fridge.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I can see someone's already writing the New Year's resolutions ;) Thanks for the comment!

      Delete
  6. Super interesting article!! Hay under the table cloth, KFC xmas dinner. Amazing the traditions in other cultures.

    Great write up!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Shaun! It is so diverse indeed :) Hope you had a great Christmas!

      Delete