As Americans are sitting down to ham or roast beast (or perhaps even tofurkey) this Christmas, people around the world will enjoy a wide assortment of traditional holiday meals. Here are just some of the interesting foods gracing global Christmas tables.
Argentina—Roast peacock.
Brazil—Couve a Mineira, or kale seasoned with garlic.
Czech Republic—Carp.
Denmark—Goose, often filled with prunes, apples and lingonberry sauce.
Egypt— Kahk, sweet cookies decorated with a cross.
France—Bûche de Noël, also called a Yule Log.
Iceland—Rice pudding, filled with raisins and a single almond (the person who gets the almond usually gets a small prize or special dessert); Danes also share this rice pudding tradition.
Italy—Capitone, aka roasted, baked, fried or steamed eels.
Phillipines—Bibingka and puto bumbong, which is a rice-flour pancake made with coconut milk, topped with cheese and salted duck eggs
Scandinavia—Lutefisk, or boiled codfish soaked in lye.
Sweden—Pepparkakor, or gingerbread cookies in the shape of hearts, stars, and often, goats.
Switzerland—Weihnactsguetzli, or cookies that come in many varieties, including lackerli (little licks), biberli (little beavers), spitzbuebli (naughty boys) and schenkeli (lady’s thighs).
Sources: mentalfloss.com, essortment.com
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The Mississippi Free Press produced this story through the MFP Solutions Lab, supported by the Solutions Journalism Network. This series digs into Mississippi’s systemic issues and sheds light on responses to them in other communities. Beyond just reporting on problems, these stories interrogate their causes and inspect potential solutions.