Scents of cinnamon, ginger, chocolate and hot wine... Time to arrange Corporate Chrismas Parties!
Christmas is an annual commemoration of the birth of Jesus Christ and a widely observed holiday, celebrated generally on December 25 by millions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, it closes the Advent season and initiates the twelve days of Christmastide, which ends after the twelfth night. Christmas is a civil holiday in many of the world's nations, is celebrated by an increasing number of non-Christians, and is an integral part of the Christmas and holiday season.
Christmas dinner is the primary meal traditionally eaten on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Christmas dinner around the world may differ and the traditions present below can reflect the culture of the respective country it is being celebrated in. Turkey is present in a fair number of these meals.
Christmas dinner in the United Kingdom
is usually eaten in the afternoon on 25 December. The dinner usually consists of roast turkey (although other poultry such as goose, chicken, duck, capon or pheasant are alternatives), sometimes with roast beef or ham or, to a lesser extent, pork. Served with stuffing, gravy; pigs in blankets; cranberry sauce or redcurrant jelly; bread sauce; roast potatoes (sometimes also boiled or mashed); vegetables (usually boiled or steamed), particularly brussels sprouts, parsnips and carrots; with dessert of Christmas pudding (or plum pudding), but trifle, mince pies, Christmas Cake or a Yule Log are also popular.
In France
and some other French-speaking countries, a réveillon is a long dinner, and possibly party, held on the evenings preceding Christmas Day and New Year's Day. The name of this dinner is based on the word réveil (meaning "waking"), because participation involves staying awake until midnight. The Christmas menu contains oysters, foie gras, smoked salmon, chapon (roasted chicken), dinde aux marrons (chestnut-stuffed turkey) and Bûche de Noël.Thirteen desserts are the traditional Christmas dessert in some French region. The Christmas supper ends with 13 dessert items, representing Jesus Christ and the 12 apostles. The desserts are traditionally set out Christmas Eve and remain on the table three days until December 27.
Christmas in Hungary and in our neighborhood...
A traditional Hungarian Christmas meal
contains fishermen's soup, stuffed cabbage, fried fish and potato salad , meat (mostly turkey, chicken or pork) which are eaten during Christmas dinner in the evening of 24 December. Many households also prepare a great variety of special Christmas cookies like chrismas cake, bejgli (stuffed with poppyseed, walnut or chestnut) and gingerbread cookies to offer to Christmas visitors. Hungarians also have szaloncukor, which is a typical Hungarian sweet used to decorate the Christmas tree.
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In Austria,
Christmas Eve is the celebration of the end of the pre-Christmas fast. Christmas Eve is historically the day that the tree is decorated and lit with real candles, so that the Christkindl may visit. Christmas Day is a national holiday in Austria and most Austrians spend the day feasting with their family. Fried carp, Sacher torte and Christmas cookies (Lebkuchen and sterne) are eaten, and many other chocolate delicacies including edible Christmas ornaments. Christmas dinner is usually goose, ham served with Gluhwein, Rumpunsch, and chocolate mousse.
In Slovakia,
christmas dinner is celebrated on 24 December; dinner takes part at around 5 to 6 pm. The traditional dinner includes oplátky (thin waffles with honey or garlic), sauerkraut soup (kapustnica) with dried mushrooms and sausage (sometimes with dry plums), carp or other fish with potato salad, apples and Christmas biscuits and opekance.
Romanian food
served during the holidays is a hearty multi-coursed meal, most of which consists of pork. Other Christmas dishes include piftie, sarmale. During Christmastime, Romanians most usually bake Cozonac, a somewhat of a Panetone made of flour, yolks, yeast and many other dependable ingredients, flavors, condiments and additions.
In Germany,
the primary Christmas dishes are roast goose and roast carp, although suckling pig or duck may also be served. Typical side dishes include roast potatoes and various forms of cabbage such as kale, brussel sprouts, and red cabbage. In some regions the Christmas dinner is traditionally served on Christmas Day rather than Christmas Eve. In this case, dinner on Christmas Eve is a simpler affair, consisting of sausages (such as Weißwurst) or pasta salad. Sweets and Christmas pastries are nearly obligatory and include marzipan, spice bars (Lebkuchen), several types of bread, and various fruitcakes and fruited breads like Christstollen and Dresdener Stollen.
