15 Traditional Christmas Foods From All Over the World

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Tamales in a bowl at a table setting with mugs, plate, and fresh fruit — Simply Recipes / Getty Images

What is it about the Christmas traditions of other cultures that's so fascinating? For me, it's because there are so many good things to eat. Learning about them—and hopefully getting a chance to try them myself—offers a window into what makes people tick, plus how the history, climate, and migration patterns of different nations shaped the foods that matter to them.

My own family's Christmas tradition is making an obscene amount of cookie recipes along with peanut brittle and cranberry bread. I basically live on cookies for the weeks leading up to and after December 25.

Cookies are great and all, but they're hardly the only way to celebrate the holidays. Here are some of the special dishes families around the world make and share as they celebrate Christmas.

Roast Goose

Simply Recipes / Elise Bauer

Many Americans will be familiar with a Christmas goose from reading Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Goose has been a significant holiday meal throughout different countries in Europe (including England, Germany, and France) because at the end of the year, the birds are naturally at their fattest and largest. In fact, the tradition goes back centuries before Christmas ever existed. Nowadays a roast goose is a rare sight at an American table, but it's a succulent bird when you cook it with care.

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The Feast of Seven Fishes

Simply Recipes / Lori Rice

On Christmas Eve, some Italian-American families celebrate the Feast of Seven Fishes, a Southern Italian tradition that's been adapted for various seafoods available depending on the location. "Why seven?," writes Hank Shaw (who also shared the goose recipe above). "No one really knows. Some say it is for the Seven Sacraments of the Catholic Church, others say it symbolizes the church's Seven Virtues: faith, hope, charity, temperance, prudence, fortitude, and justice." The exact fish and their preparation served doesn't matter so much as the abundance of seafood dishes at the table.

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St. Lucia Buns

Simply Recipes / Elise Bauer

Of all things, I know about St. Lucia buns from the original issue American Girls doll Kirsten, whose backstory was that her family of Swedish immigrants went to settle in Minnesota in the mid-1800s. Her Christmas accessory set included doll-sized St. Lucia buns. December 13 is Lucia Day, which celebrates bringing light on the cold, dark days of the year. Traditionally in Sweden on Lucia Day, a girl in each village or family dresses in long white robes tied with a red sash, dons a wreath topped with lighted candles on her head, and serves these saffron-scented sweet buns with cups of coffee. Known as lusskatter in Swedish, the S shape of the buns is intended to evoke a curled-up cat.

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Coquito

Simply Recipes / Elise Bauer

You may hear people call coquito Puerto Rican eggnog, but think of it as its own drink with its own identity. It's made with coconut milk (coquito means little coconut in Spanish), rum, spices, and spiced tea, among other ingredients. In her own coquito recipe, longtime Simply Recipes contributor Garrett Mc says, "Right around Halloween, Puerto Ricans begin brewing a big batch of coquito to give it time to cure for their holiday parties...Refrigerate and let the coquito chill for at least forty-eight hours to allow the flavors to blend and the alcohol flavor to mellow out. It’s always better the next day or a couple of days later."

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Gløgg

Simply Recipes / Nancy Mitchell

In Scandinavian countries where it's cold and dark all winter, a steaming mug of mulled wine helps bring out seasonal cheer. Gløgg is Danish and Norwegian; glögg is Swedish. The German version is known as glühwein, and since it translates to glow wine, it gives you an idea of how it makes you feel after sipping on it for a while. Some versions of these hot spiced wines are fortified with liquor such as rum or vodka. Their warming aroma alone summons up Christmas.

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Tamales

Simply Recipes / Ericka Sanchez

A tamalada is a tamale-making bonanza in Latin American households. The tamales are the result, but the point is the gathering itself. Reflecting on her own family's tradition, Ericka Sanchez writes, "In our Mexican home, La Navidad (or “Christmas” in Spanish), isn’t La Navidad without a giant steamer on the stovetop filled to the brim with tamales. This isn’t just a one-day affair. The tamales are made during a gathering called a tamalada, an almost month-long celebration that starts on December 12th for Día de la Virgen de Guadalupe and ends on January 6th for Día de Reyes. During that time, we gather with family and friends for biblical reenactments, piñatas, midnight mass, mariachis, and of course, a lot of tamales."

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Stollen

Simply Recipes / Sally Vargas

Stollen is a German sweet bread most associated with Dresden, and it dates back at least to the 1400s when it was a dull affair baked primarily for fasting. Since then dried fruit, sugar, butter, eggs, and rum have been added. The bread's shape and white glaze or dusting of powdered sugar is said to symbolize the swaddled infant Christ. Commercial bakeries in Germany and areas with high concentrations of German immigrants make stollen every year, but you can also bake our recipe, which only gets better as it ages.

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Kolache

Simply Recipes / Elise Bauer

In Eastern European countries, kolache (or kolacky) are sweet yeasted buns with fruit, need, and seed fillings. In the US, they can be the same thing...or they can be little cookies of a flaky short dough folded around the filling. "My father gets a faraway look in his eyes when he remembers his Minnesota Czech grandmother's poppy seed pastries," writes Elise Bauer. In comments on the recipe, readers share all kinds of family stories about relatives from Bohemia, Poland, and Czechoslovakia starting their own particular kolache traditions to revisit every Christmas, generation after generation.

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Pavlova

Simply Recipes / Elise Bauer

In Australia and New Zealand, where pavlova is beloved all year long, Christmas falls smack-dab in summer weather, when lots of fresh fruit is in season. So it makes sense that this meringue-based fruit and whipped cream dessert is a must at Christmas tables in both countries. The pav shown above is a fairly simple affair, but all sorts of colorful fresh fruit—or even chocolate—can show up to make it extra festive.

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Bubble and Squeak

Simply Recipes / Sally Vargas

Throughout the UK on Boxing Day, households take the leftover potatoes and vegetables served with the Christmas roast and fry up bubble and squeak. These cakes can be large or small, and their name comes from the sound of the cakes hitting the oil in the pan. Try one with a fried egg on top for a humble but utterly loveable meal.

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Lumpia

Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe

Among the emblematic foods that Filipino families enjoy at Christmas and similarly major holidays, this could easily be pancit bihon (stir-fried rice noodles) or lechon (roast pork) or leche flan (a custard with a caramelized top). Our contributor Betty Ann Quirino says, "Lumpia Shanghai are deep-fried, bite-sized egg rolls filled with pork, shrimp, and vegetables and served with a spicy sweet-sour sauce. They are so scrumptious they’ll be gone from the platter in minutes, whether served as an appetizer at a party or main course at a family meal."

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Trinidadian Macaroni Pie

Simply Recipes / Alica Ramkirpal-Senhouse

Pepperpot and black cake are touchstone Christmas recipes in Caribbean countries like Trinidad, Jamaica, and Guyana (though of course each country and every family has their own takes). Another member of the Christmas feast supporting cast is likely to be macaroni pie. "Caribbean macaroni pie is a beloved baked macaroni and cheese dish that no gathering can go without, especially during the holidays," writes contributor Alica Ramkirpal-Senhouse, who grew up in a Guyanese-American family. "It’s crowd pleasing, tasty, and economical. Whenever there is a holiday potluck the question is always, 'Who made the macaroni pie?'" Her recipe is a Trinidadian version, reflecting her husband's background. It's seasoned with mildly spicy pimento peppers plus dried herbs.

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Continue to 13 of 15 below.
Panettone

Simply Recipes / Sally Vargas

This lovely Christmas bread, widely associated with red boxes stacked up in specialty stores during the holidays, isn't just a tradition in Italy. Throughout many South American countries, Italian immigrants introduced panettone and over the years it's become integral in their Christmas festivities, too. Our homemade recipe is a true labor of love, and no boxed panettone can beat it.

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Oyster Stew

Simply Recipes / Elise Bauer

Oyster stew is rich with butter, milk, and cream and enjoyed in coastal regions of the Southern US. Our reader Karen shared, "Most of my family lives in coastal Virginia, and oyster stew is definitely a Christmas morning tradition. Dad knows someone who knows someone, so we are lucky enough to get wonderful shucked local oysters the day before. With quality like that, all you need is butter, a little flour, whole milk, parsley, salt and plenty of pepper." However, many other readers have commented that using canned oysters is completely acceptable and yields results that are just as good.

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Jamaican Rice and Peas

Simply Recipes / Kalisa Marie Martin

Kalisa Martin grew up in a Jamaican family. "I used to be excited to mix it up during the holidays and experiment with new recipes," she writes. "Now though, I am incentivized to cook the classic Jamaican dishes I grew up eating." That includes rice and peas, "arguably the most fundamental Jamaican dish on the table." Thus, this recipe makes a big batch. Rice and peas may not the be the star of the holidays, but without them it just wouldn't be Christmas.

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