No ideas for Christmas dinner?

Be inspired by culinary customs from around the world

Created: 12/15/2022, 08:00

Anyone can make sausages and potato salad.

This Christmas, why not resort to an exotic Christmas dish from a far-off land.

Bratwurst, potato salad or roast goose.

When it comes to the Christmas feast, the Germans love tradition – if not exactly creatively.

The traditional dishes that are eaten in Germany at Christmas are typical of the country and rather simple, especially in the case of sausages and potatoes.

This is great for families who would rather spend time together at Christmas than cook for hours.

But if you want to surprise your loved ones with a very special feast, you can be inspired by how it is done in other countries.

Here are a few examples of culinary Christmas traditions from around the world.

Christmas trends in Germany's neighboring countries

You don't have to look far to find inspiration for a less traditional German Christmas feast.

Each of Germany's nine neighboring countries has its very own traditions that look just as good on the Christmas table as sausages or goose.

• In

  Denmark

  , the "Lille juleaften", the "little Christmas Eve", is already celebrated on December 23rd, when the tree is decorated and preparations are made.

  On Christmas Eve there is the giving of presents and a Christmas feast, where traditionally roast pork or duck and boiled potatoes with gravy are eaten.

  For dessert there is “risalamande”, a rice pudding with a cherry sauce in which an almond is hidden.

  The family member who finds the almond in their portion gets a prize or gift.

  Incidentally, the Danes also meet regularly in the run-up to Christmas for festive lunchtime meals with Danish specialties such as liver pâté, herring or roast meat with beer and schnapps.

• In

  Poland

  , on Christmas Eve, there is the so-called “Wigilia” celebration.

  This is the traditional Christmas celebration, celebrated with a 12-course meal.

  Traditionally, the various courses do not include meat, but instead include Barszcz beetroot soup with ravioli, dumplings with sauerkraut and mushrooms, and a fish dish, such as rollmops or matjes.

  A small church service is also celebrated at home with the family at Christmas.

• Fish is also eaten in the

  Czech Republic

  at Christmas, mostly in the form of a fish soup or breaded Christmas carp, which is bought alive a few days in advance and often kept in the bathtub.

  It is served with potato salad.

  In this neighboring country there is also a midnight mass in the church.

• The neighbors from

  Austria

  celebrate Christmas in a very similar way to the Germans.

  There is the Christmas tree, the Advent wreath and the Christ child brings the presents.

  Cold dishes with fish or sausages are usually eaten on Christmas Eve.

  At Christmas in Styria there is roast, goose or carp with potato salad.

  In other areas, sauerkraut with fish or bratwurst are also traditional, as is noodle soup or cut soup, a bread soup.

• There is no typical Christmas dish in

  Switzerland

  , but tendencies that have become established over the years.

  As in Germany, cheese fondue, raclette or potato salad with roast are also popular here.

  However, regional traditions may vary.

  In the canton of Aargau, for example, they eat pies with Milken.

  In addition, in Switzerland, everything is baked for Christmas and Mailänderli, Zimtsternli, Chräbeli, Spitzbueben, vanilla horns and Totenbeinli are all served at the festival. 

• In

  France

  , on the other hand, the classic Christmas meal is hearty.

  It is called “Le réveillon” and includes a turkey stuffed with chestnuts or a capon stuffed with plums.

  Oysters and foie gras, stuffed goose liver, are often served with this.

  Fish and cheese platters are also part of Christmas in France, as is the so-called "bûche de Noël",

  the Christmas tree cake.

• The neighbors from little

  Luxembourg

  celebrate Christmas on December 25th, but on Christmas Eve they already enjoy a feast together.

  “Träipen” (blood sausage) with mashed potatoes and apple sauce used to be a tradition.

  Today, however, turkey, fondue or seafood are also on the menu in many areas.

  There are also Stollen and typical Luxembourgish dishes such as Gromperekichelcher (potato pancakes), Boxemannencher (mare boys), mulled wine and eggnog.

• Belgium

  differs a bit from Germany and other neighboring countries when it comes to Christmas traditions.

  Here the gifts are opened in the morning of December 6th, i.e. on St. Nicholas Day.

  They are brought by the Sinterklaas.

  Nevertheless, Christmas is celebrated with a mass, a nativity play and Christmas markets, and there is often stuffed turkey, a chocolate Christmas cake and beers brewed especially for the festival at the feast. 

• In the

  Netherlands

  , too, there are gifts from St. Nicholas that can be unwrapped there on the evening of December 5th.

  At Christmas, there is a celebration with the family and a sumptuous feast.

  Christmas stollen are exchanged and there are game or beef dishes.

  Fondue, grilling together and vegetable pans are also popular with the Dutch neighbors.

Christmas in the USA: These are the customs on the other side of the pond

What confuses most children when they watch US series and films is the children unwrapping their Christmas presents in their pajamas in the morning.

In contrast to Germany, it is customary in the USA to celebrate Christmas presents only on Christmas morning.

On the evening before Christmas, on the other hand, the family sits and eats together, or relatives are invited over for Christmas Day.

Every family celebrates Christmas differently, and the culinary customs also differ from country to country.

© Shotshop/Imago

The feast usually features a roast, often a roast turkey.

There is also Egg Nog, or Apple Cider, for which almost every family has its own, slightly different recipe.

In addition, gingerbread men and fruit cake are delicacies reserved for Christmas.

The latter is a dry cake with dried fruit soaked in alcohol.

Of course, there are also non-alcoholic fruit cakes for children.

Don't forget: Santa Claus is hungry too

For him, the American children prepare biscuits and milk on Christmas Eve, which magically disappear the next morning when the presents are under the Christmas tree.

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Australia and New Zealand: Christmas customs in midsummer weather

While people in Europe always hope for snow at Christmas, in Australia and New Zealand (even without climate change) this is an almost impossible wish.

December to February is the height of summer in the southern hemisphere.

That's why in New Zealand they don't decorate fir trees, but the pohutukawa, which has officially developed into the New Zealand Christmas tree over the years.

In Australia, Santa Claus also comes down the chimney on Christmas Eve and fills the Christmas stockings by the fireplace or puts presents under the tree.

This is an English tradition and a holdover from colonial and Commonwealth times.

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Australia and New Zealand eat well throughout the holiday season.

On Christmas Eve, the family usually enjoys a roast turkey or baked ham and, for dessert, Christmas pudding made from dried fruit and nuts.

Depending on the temperature and geographic location, seafood like fish and shrimp are also popular dishes that are a bit lighter and more local than Christmas roasts.

On December 25th there are gifts and in the evenings there is often an outdoor barbecue.

On December 26, the leftovers from the Christmas roast are eaten at the family picnic before the whole family finally goes on Christmas vacation.

School holidays in Australia and New Zealand run from mid-December to the end of January.

Christmas baking: what's in speculoos and gingerbread spices and how should you store Advent spices?

View photo gallery

Few Christians, but still Christmassy: This is how people celebrate in Asia

In Asia, Christmas is not nearly as big a celebration as it is in Europe, America and Australia.

The reason for this is the small number of Christians living on this continent.

In India, for example, there are about 24 million Christians, who make up only 2.4 percent of the population.

Africa's Christmas customs: Old traditions from the colonial era have remained

There are many different traditions in Africa, some of which are very similar to Western customs.

When the English occupied many parts of the continent during the colonial era, they brought with them some ways of life that have survived to this day.

• Kenya:

  Cypress trees are used as Christmas trees and houses and churches are decorated with balloons, ribbons.

  Decorated with decorations and flowers.

  There is a midnight mass on December 24th and the holiday feast often includes grilled goat, sheep, beef or chicken with flatbread.

  In addition one wishes "Heri Ya Krismasi", which means "Merry Christmas" in Swahili.

• Uganda:

  The streets are decorated with lights and people usually give each other food.

  There are no classic customs for Christmas dinner.

  It is only important that the meal differs from what is eaten in everyday life.

• South Africa:

  The gift-giving is celebrated in the morning of December 25th and the Christmas dinner is usually a garden party because it is summer at this time.

  Again, there is no national tradition, but glazed ham or turkey with seafood are often eaten as appetizers.

  In the evening carols and psalms are sung as Christmas carols.

• Namibia:

  There are also Christmas decorations and lights there, but mostly no real candles because the high temperatures melt the wax.

  German communities in Namibia, which date back to colonial times, import Christmas trees from South Africa for the festival, and there are even nativity plays in some of these areas.

  German Christmas biscuits, which can be bought or baked at home, are still particularly popular there.