oh christmas whether you're hanging stockings around the fireplace on christmas eve or waiting for a kind yet ugly witch on a broomstick to appear on january 6th there's one thing most christmas celebrations all have in common food and lots of it yep the turkey isn't the only thing that gets stuffed at this time of year so put on your favorite stretchy pants as we feast our eyes on christmas foods from around the world hi i'm kate and this is anglophenia now if you've already seen our episode on how to have a british christmas which you
should totally check out by the way you'll know that most brits usually enjoy a roast turkey served with brussels sprouts roasted veg gravy and either boiled mashed or roasted potatoes heck we might even have all three during our lunch on christmas day this is often followed by christmas pudding which is set on fire before being served with brandy butter watch out as there's often a lucky coin hidden somewhere in the middle so chew carefully mince pies are everywhere and are in fact filled with a mixture of dried fruit and nuts known as mincemeat not actual
meat as some people mistakenly believe they are super delicious and slightly moorish but if you think us brits are a little peculiar you should see what iceland tucks into on christmas iceland on dasha on dancer on prancer and vixen on comet on cupid on donna and blitz wait has anyone actually seen blitzen lately perhaps now would be a good time to mention iceland's festive fare which can include roasted reindeer for christmas although sometimes they'll choose puffin or grouse instead they tend to fast in the weeks leading up to christmas which generally means avoiding meat so
to celebrate the last day of fasting on december 23rd they feast on a traditional dish of boiled potatoes and fermented skate which as you can imagine is rather pungent to avoid filling their homes with a funky fishy fragrance many people choose to eat this traditional dish out at a restaurant instead great idea france a far more appetizing tradition often enjoyed in the provence region of france is the offering of 13 desserts which are created in honour of christ and his 12 apostles these are left out for three days for people to snack on although i
doubt they'd last that long in my house the main christmas dinner traditionally occurs on christmas eve in france turkey and goose are favored often filled with a chestnut stuffing yummy germany roasted goose and red cabbage are the stars of christmas dinner in germany but their most famous food is stolen a sweet fruitcake often baked into a hump to symbolize camels who carried the three wise men to jesus the germans believed that if you do not dine well on christmas eve you'll be haunted by demons so there's really no excuse not to enjoy an extra slice
of stolen or two actually just keep them coming you can never be too careful japan in japan nothing screams christmas more than a bucket of kfc and i'm not pulling your turkey leg this is actually true as a result of an extremely successful marketing campaign by the finger licking fast food chain during the 70s the colonel convinced a nation who traditionally didn't celebrate christmas that the festive bucket of fried chicken was the best way to celebrate on the day even now people in japan will queue around the block to make sure that they have a
kentucky fried christmas india christians in india celebrate christmas by eating traditional biryani or curry dishes which are often followed by a sweet and milky pudding known as kia curries have also become a popular way of using up leftovers here in the uk and are a bit of a signature dish on boxing day the day after christmas italy in italy instead of roast meat they favor fish and celebrate by making the famous feast of seven fishes which usually features a plethora of different seafood dishes such as cod clam linguini and calamari the number of dishes served
can vary from region to region as can the type of fish but no matter how many fish you eat or how they are served they will all be enjoyed on christmas eve instead of christmas day christmas day lunch in italy usually kicks off with pasta in broth eel apparently once featured as the main event on christmas day but this has since been replaced by roast turkey in many parts of italy and of course it wouldn't be christmas in italy without a bit of panettone australia despite christmas falling in the heat of the summer the australians
still enjoy a traditional british style christmas feast although a barbecue is just as popular australians often prefer a pavlova for dessert which is mostly meringue topped with fruit and cream although a traditional christmas pudding is also popular and during the gold rush a lucky gold nugget was often hidden inside instead of a coin you could say it was a rather rich dessert argentina another country that celebrates christmas during their summer months is argentina where the main christmas feast is enjoyed on christmas eve vitel donai is the traditional dish of the day and was originally brought
over by italian immigrants in the late 1800s it's made up of sliced veal which is covered in a tuna and mayonnaise sauce with capers which isn't exactly to everyone's taste but then again neither a brussels sprouts the u.s as many of you will know americans usually enjoy a good roast for christmas lunch although owing to the fact that many have already gobbled up as much turkey as they can during thanksgiving they'll usually feast on ham or roast beef for dessert it wouldn't be christmas without a pumpkin or apple pie oh let's not forget the eggnog
easily done though if you have one too many what would make your ideal christmas lunch perhaps you'd like to mix and match from around the world who knows curry reindeer with a side of brussels sprouts and a bucket of kfc could be a winning combo are there any traditions from your own country you think we should try let us know in the comments or tweet us at anglophenia remember to like our facebook page too and subscribe for more episodes now there's just enough time left for me to wish you all a very merry christmas happy
holidays felipe navidad watch out for the golden nugget in that one this one is better than brussels sprouts that one is best enjoyed on christmas eve no peeking it would be rudolph not to watch that one
