If you are not from the UK- what do you do for Christmas dinner?

[Parry5timesbeforedeath]

I just love reading about the food traditions of other cultures.

I'm Australian and live in the UK now. We used to have a Christmas eve BBQ and Christmas day was a huge seafood platter (oysters, scallops, lobsters etc) with an array of salads. Boxing day we did a cold ham with salads and pickles.

Now of course I do the fairly traditional English Christmas meal- although we either do chicken or goose as none of like turkey. I love bread sauce and stuffing. Christmas eve here we tend to do oysters though. Boxing day I do ham and cauliflower cheese.

I would love to know what your Christmas food traditions are!

I do a fairly traditional Christmas dinner for all my British family. 😂

BUT growing up, my mum was a single parent and once my grandparents died, she never cooked a Christmas dinner for the 2 of us (I’m not sure she has ever cooked a Christmas dinner in her life and she’s now 75). We had takeaway Chinese or we’d go out to a nice Chinese restaurant (I’m not Chinese but in my home country, they would be open on Christmas). So our tradition now is Chinese for Christmas Eve, a few things from the takeaway that I can’t be asked to make, and then a few homemade things or from the shop.

I love that!

I have Jewish family in the US and they do Chinese on Christmas eve. It's apparently quite common there.

And in Japan KFC is common!

I spent a number of years in Ukraine and loved the borscht and deruny with sour cream and dill that used to be served. TBH though those dishes are exqusite any time of the year

I'm in SA. So similar to you OP as it's usually hot at blazes.

We would have a cooked meal of gammon / turkey etc on Christmas eve night as it's too heavy a meal in the day in the heat. Then on Christmas day usually the leftover meats with lots of different salads.

If not cold meats then usually a BBQ (braai) as it's usually a outdoor day.

This year I am planning to do a roast on Christmas Day which is quite unusual, but that is only because the weather is completely shit and it's done nothing but rain. Sighs.

That sounds delicious
Do Australians celebrate Boxing day as in call it Boxing day?

I was always brought up with it being called Boxing Day. I think it is the usual term. But I left decades ago now so sometimes get mixed up. I am from Melbourne originally, certainly it's still a holiday. (The term 'Bank Holiday' i did not learn until I came to the UK though).

I’m from the UK but have lived In Australia for a number of years. We straight away dropped the traditional Christmas dinner and have oysters, prawns, general seafood, salads and a cold pudding.

I always look forward to getting to the fishmonger’s at 7.00.a.m. on Christmas Eve to buy the seafood (and avoid the queues) then zooming home to put it all in the beer fridge with the ham I bought last week.

Yes, it’s Boxing Day in Australia.

I'm in Finland and here the traditional meal is ham, usually cooked overnight and served cold (I prefer to cook it during the day though and serve hot), with various bakes - potato, swede, carrot, liver and raisin (never have that one ), beetroot salad, smoked and salted salmons and pickled herrings.

Thanks I always thought the name came from when upper classes had servants and the servants had their xmas meal on the day after Xmas?
I think the Canadians also call it Boxing day maybe something to do with the commen wealth?

I thiught it originated from the boxing tournaments that would be held in villages? It is a saints day too, St Stephen’s, and of course it’s the day that Good King Wenceslas looked out.

I am British but don’t especially care for a British Christmas dinner. DH is Swedish so we have a family Christmas meal on the 24th (ham, meatballs, prawn salad, princes sausages, hard boiled eggs, pickled herring, a Swedish potato dish that’s like gratin with anchovies in it, etc).

On the 25th it’s just DH, DS and I and we usually have a big cheese board with charcuterie meats and pickles.

In the name of tradition I buy sliced turkey, nice bread, cranberry sauce and sometimes stuffing and have a Boxing Day ‘leftovers’ sandwich.

Yes it is and obviously Good king wencelas maybe a mixture of traditions.