In Europe, the Christmas meal is a huge spread in which the main dish is stuffed roast turkey, goose or duck, along with mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce, followed by a rich Christmas pudding.
In England, mince pies are part of the feast, while in the U.S. it is pumpkin pie. In Australia, it’s the height of summer, so people prefer seafood that is light on the stomach. Filipinos prefer roasted pig and chicken instead of turkey, accompanied by plenty of rice, which is a staple food.
The Christmas pudding (also called plum pudding) is of course the most eagerly awaited dessert at the end of the meal. The pudding is made weeks before the big day and is a mixture of flour, dried fruits, nuts and suet or lard. It is usually dark in colour and contains alcohol in the form of rum or brandy. Everyone in the house gives it a stir (the day the pudding is made is called ‘Stir Up Sunday’) and makes a wish. Sometimes silver coins and rings are added to the pudding. The person who finds a coin or a ring while eating is considered lucky! The pudding is steamed for 6-9 hours and then covered with a cloth and hung up to enhance the flavour. Before it is served, brandy is poured around the pudding and set on fire!
In India, Christmas is celebrated with fervour in Goa, Kerala and some northeastern states like Mizoram and Nagaland. Goa’s Christmas cuisine includes meat dishes like sorpotel and vindaloo, both made from pork, a variety of fish preparations and a lot of coconut-based sweets: bebinca, a multi-layered pudding made with oodles of ghee, sans rival, a kind of coconut cake, small sweets called dodol and neurios (something like the Maharashtrian karanji).
Kerala’s Syrian Christians celebrate with mutton biryani and chicken curry served with mashed tapioca and accompanied by feather light aapams. Seafood follows and the meal is rounded off with kheer garnished with nuts and raisins.