h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

What's the most common stuff you eat at Christmas? Do you have some national traditions or something?

Here, in Estonia the most common thing is blood sausage with cowberry jam.

Hati, in the US it depends on which nationality you are. The Mexican-Americans eat tamales on Christmas. In the midwest, the most common Christmas day dinners are ham or turkey.

In my family there is a special fudge that we only make at Christmas. And that is the only time I ever make sugar cookies or cranberry nut bread.

Hypatia

I forgot to mention gingerbread. And I think I'll make quite some tomorrow or the day after.

British first course:
Small and numerous mince pies consumed over the course of the morning along with chocolate oranges and glasses of sherry.

Second course (with mandatory cracker, silly hat, joke, and toy):
Turkey stuffed with sage and onion bread stuffing with cranberry sauce on the side;
Roast potatoes, carrots, onions, parsnips;
Gravy;
Boiled sprouts, chestnuts, peas;
Copious red and white wine.

Third course:
Plum pudding that you douse with brandy and set on fire then eat with a highly alcoholic white sauce;
Stodgy fruitcake covered in marzipan and concrete-like icing, with little plastic trees and snowmen and robins and reindeer all over the top;
Sherry trifle.

Fourth course:
A selection of cheese and crackers;
Mulled wine;
Chocolates.

Waaaiitaminnit... you can't get berries from cows! I dread to think what they really are.

Really they are lingonberries.

*makes notes*

I don't wait for Christmas Day to eat mince pies.

Buying them at the moment to photograph them for the <./>photographers</.> group

That's my excuse, anyway

That's as good an excuse as any, GB.

I don't fix mince pies any more. My dad was the only one in the family besides myself who liked them. I haven't had one since he died, in 1999.

*checks wikipedia for mince pie*

Big Hypatia, you should eat them in his honour

Hati: http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/anniebarrnone/detail?.dir=/3340scd&.dnm=caa9scd.jpg&.src=ph
I'll see if I can upload my 4 (different) mince pies pic as well.

http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/anniebarrnone/detail?.dir=/3340scd&.dnm=6e84scd.jpg&.src=ph

Yes, I should. Thanks for that idea.

We have eggnog just at Christmas. And those party mixes like Chex Mix. And Petit Fours, those little fancy one bite cakes. And fruitcake.

Basically, the choice is between duck (usually stuffed with dried plums and apple) or pork. My English vocabulary fails me right now in finding the word(s) for the part of the pig...

And "ris a la mande" with cherry sauce for dessert - sounds french, but isn't. But I think you know it well, Hati?

Oh yes, Santra!
What was that about sweet potatoes in DK?

I dislike xmas food with bones.

what I like xmas breakfast with stolllen with spijs*, frisian sugarbread and hot chololate and orange juice.

* stolllen with spijs - the spijs is crushed almonds mixed with real butter, sugar and sometimes cinnamon. it looks different from marzipan, which is used in stollen in Germany

Pigs in blankets, SV?

Sausage wrapped in a slice of bacon.

Oh and on Wednesday my Mother and I were searching through all the shortcake/shortbread and I found some with one side dipped in

Guess what I bought?

We go for a mix of Finnish and Swedish 'julbord' (like 'smörgåsbord' but Christmassy):

Porkkanalaatikko and Lanttulaatikko (carrot and swede casserole)
Christmas ham - and it's very important that the mustard is Turun Sinappi
Smoked salmon
Köttbullar (Swedish meatballs)
Prinskorv (Swedish chipolatas)
Rödbetssallad (beetroot salad)
Various accessories such as potatoes, broccoli or brussel sprouts, halves of boiled eggs garnished with caviar and stuff...

Christmas and spiced snaps (last year we tried a saffron snaps)

*burp*

Excuse me!

*makes notes and takes those with her to w*rk*

Add to that
a selection of pickled herrings,
red cabbage, brown cabbage, some like kale,
julmust (add a splash of beer to a glass of cola and you're close) to drink for children and tee total parents in law,
sylta (chopped meat and *dare not think what else*, similar to a la daube, but less jellyish)
with pickled beetroot...

*faints from hunger thinking of it*