Christmas Dinner: On the Eve or on the Day?
December 12, 2011
•Le Cordon Bleu
•Scottsdale
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Christmas Dinner: On the Eve or on the Day?
One of the biggest debates over Christmas dinner each year isn’t what should be served or even whether it should be at her mother’s house or yours, but whether it should be on Christmas Eve or Christmas day. Everyone and every culture have a different idea of when the Christmas feast should occur.
Some believe that the feast should occur on Christmas Eve to coincide with ancient Jewish liturgical calendars, which held that days started at sunset. Many of the Christians religions have held to those traditions and have made Christmas Eve a part of the Christmas celebration. Most hold evening and midnight masses that coincide with family gatherings and large feasts. While Christmas day is a quieter celebration that is time for immediate family and close friends.
Other traditions, both religious and secular, reserve their Christmas revelry for the day itself. Friends and family gather from near and far for a feast that usually takes the form or a super-sized Sunday dinner complete with all of the trimmings. If you’re lucky enough to a have graduate degree of one of Scottsdale’s cooking schools, then your Christmas day dinner will be a memorable one.
Christmas Dinner Traditions from Around the World
In the end, it comes down to one’s cultural, religious, and familial traditions as to whether the Christmas feast is on Christmas Eve or Christmas day. Let’s take a look at some of the most popular Christmas dinner culinary arts traditions from around the world.
United States
As you can expect from our mixed heritage, the U.S. has a host of Christmas dinner traditions. Most come from our English and German ancestors, including turkey or ham, mashed potatoes, Christmas pudding, Christmas cookies, and assorted pies. Regional variations include oysters in the South, lutefisk in the upper Midwest, and tamales in the Southwest. Large meals are often eaten on both days, usually with different groups of family and friends. Christmas dinner in the U.S. is prime opportunity to practice culinary arts from cultures and countries.
United Kingdom and Ireland
Old Catholic traditions in the U.K. make Christmas Eve a quiet night of churchgoing, while Christmas day is the day for feasting and celebration. Christmas turkey and Christmas pudding are the centerpieces of the meal that also includes roasted vegetables and cranberry sauce, among many other treats well-known to us here in the states.
Italy
Southern Italians celebrate the Feast of Seven Fishes, which is a large festive meal held on Christmas Eve that consists entirely of fish or shellfish dishes. Italians know Christmas Eve as La Vigilia or The Vigil. It commemorates the wait for the birth of Christ. Traditionally La Vigilia was a fast where no meat or dairy products were consumed. The Feast of Seven Fishes eventually replaced that fast with delicious dishes from the ocean. Many Italian-Americans also celebrate this festive Christmas Eve meal.
Spain and Latin America
Most Spanish speaking countries celebrate Nochebuenaor Good Night on Christmas Eve. It is usually a large meal served to family, friends, and neighbors. In Cuba the Nochebuena meal is centered on a pig that is roasted over coals in the back yard. In Mexico, the meal consists of both sweet and savory tamales and posole. In Spain, the meal begins with seafood dishes and various soups followed by desserts of marzipan or turrón.
No matter the day when the Christmas feast occurs, it’s clear that Christmas dinner is an occasion to enjoy plenty of delicious foods and desserts with family and friends.
This article is presented by Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Scottsdale. Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Scottsdale offers culinary arts and pâtisserie and baking training programs in Scottsdale, Arizona. To learn more about the class offerings, please visit Chefs.edu/Scottsdale for more information.
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