Food Traditions of Christmas

It doesn’t matter where you live on the globe, food is central to celebrations. The food may look different from place to place and celebration to celebration, but the Christmas celebration has some great food traditions. In Mexico you might eat tamales – time-consuming to make, so always a treat for Christmas. In Finland, you will eat from the “Joulupöytä“, which is translated “Yule Table.” This would probably include a Christmas ham and mustard, among other things. Porridge might don your Christmas table in Russia, ‘sochivo‘ or ‘kutia,’ with berries or fruits or walnuts. What about some of the traditional foods we see around Christmas time, things you don’t see other times of year. Why do we have them, where did they come from?

I tried Plum Pudding one time at a medieval Madrigal Dinner, but couldn’t tell you anything about it other than it belonged during that time period. Plum Pudding is also known as Figgy Pudding (Piggy Pudding, if you are a Muppets’ fan) or Christmas Pudding. It was a 13-ingredient pudding to represent Christ and the apostles and originated with the Roman Catholic Church. It became a family event as each member took turns stirring the pudding from east to west to signify the Magi’s journey. The word ‘plum’ once meant any dried fruit, so may have not included plums at all!

The Christmas Ham is found on many tables around the world, but did you know it all started with a boar’s head? The boar’s head was the centerpiece of the holiday table for the wealthiest of Tudor England. Done to honor Freyr, the Norse god of harvest and fertility, not all had the money to sport a boar’s head. A Yule ham became the affordable replacement for the boar’s head and is still common today.

A Stollen or Christollen originated from Germany and was first documented in the 15th century. The recipe has changed over the years, and butter was first added to the recipe in the 1400’s by permission of the pope. Stollens are a cake-type of loaf made with dried fruits and marzipan and dusted with powdered sugar; it is intended to represent the Baby Jesus wrapped in swaddling clothes.

Don’t forget the gingerbread! My daughter and daughter-in-law work together each Christmas season to build and decorate their gingerbread building(s). Gingerbread has been around for a very long time as a food item and has been shaped into tree ornaments since the Victorian era. In 17th century Europe, only professional makers were allowed to bake gingerbread year round, but the restriction was lifted during Christmas and Easter. Gingerbread is a classic that uses molasses as a sweetener, which would also have been used by medieval cooks – refined sugar was expensive. The first gingerbread men were done for Queen Elizabeth I of England – they were shaped like her favorite attendants.

I did a quick, informal survey around our office, just to see what kind of food traditions are kept among our Rainbow family and why. Deb’s family does a taco bar for Christmas because they have a large group and this is a crowd pleaser. Ruth’s family makes spanakopita casserole (Greek spinach pie); they make two of this layered dish using filo dough layered with spinach and feta cheese – everyone has a part in the preparation. John’s family enjoys Polish food on Christmas Day as part of their heritage, Phyllis’s family has Harvard beets every year, Emily has Italian, Tracie’s family loves Grandma’s ham balls, and Maleigha’s family has KFC with her grandma on Christmas. We also have the more traditional feasts of turkey, ham, or prime rib with all the trimmings, and the newer food tradition of sliders for dinner at Vicki’s house. Christmas Eve comes with food traditions as well, and is usually combined with friends, church services, and favorite old Christmas movies. Finger foods and chili or soup are great on a cold winter evening and easy to combine with other activities.

At my house, cooking and baking up goodies is among our traditions, and I’m sure many of you enjoy and share this activity with your own children; I did it with my children and now my daughter-in-law gets to be part of the fun. Special recipes come out only at this time of year – wedding cakes, thumb print cookies, date pin wheels, homemade caramels, and pumpkin rolls. All of these treats are assembled to make goody trays for friends at this special time of year.

Traditions have to begin somewhere. Some are old and others new, but all serve to create special family memories. Food is calming. soothing and memorable, and is a big part of celebration and special times. We are very blessed to live in a country that is a melting pot of food traditions from around the world. Build traditions and make some memories this Christmas season.