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Turkey, goose and plum pudding are only a few of the yummy foods that will be piled on to dining tables around the world today.
Joanna Lobo finds out from expats making a living here what their favourite home-cooked Christmas dishes are and how to make them
Where Christmas is a mix of cuisines
In the United States, multi-ethnic families mean a multi-cultural Christmas meal
In James Reppuhn's home in the United States, the festive season is when the family gets together. His home would see cousins, uncles, grandparents, nieces and nephews traipse in, loaded with Christmas goodies and presents. Food played a secondary role.
"We would have had turkey just about a month earlier at Thanksgiving, so that wasn't the highlight," says this visiting executive chef at the JW Marriott hotel in Mumbai.
But there was always a lot of food. On the menu is stuffed turkey, which alternates yearly with goose or duck, mashed potatoes, bacon, green beans, mushrooms and cranberry sauce. "We would sit down mid-afternoon and have a true feast. There's beer and sometimes my uncles and I would bring out the scotch," he adds. Since his mother is Italian, there would be pasta too. And when his great grandmother was alive, she would make traditional Italian honey-glazed cookies. That was soon replaced by pumpkin pies and mince pies. "It's quite a mix of cuisines actually, something that can be found in most homes in the US," says James.
Given the large number of communities in the US, Christmas celebrations vary from home to home. For some it's a religious festival, whereas for others it is a festival 'for the kids'.
James hasn't been home for Christmas in 25 years. In fact, this is a busy time for him at work, and he usually just nibbles on turkey or sits down with fellow expats for a quiet dinner. But his mother diligently sends him pictures of the food, the Christmas tree and the presents back home to make him a part of the festivities there in a small way.
Going home for foie gras and wicked desserts
The Wards have a traditional French celebration, where the meal features 13 desserts in all
Every Christmas eve, the Ward family sits down to a lavish meal in their cosy home in Cannes, in the south of France. The table groans under the weight of the food on it: roast turkey stuffed with carrots and broccoli, served with gravy; a seafood platter with oysters, prawns, foie gras and jam, and smoked salmon; a 'wicked' dessert — usually a Buche de Noel (Yule log); and lots of drinks.
"Christmas is all about the kilos," said Charlotte Ward, operations manager at The Comedy Store in Mumbai, before going home for the holidays. "We eat everything very slowly, and drink lots of alcohol — it adds taste to an otherwise dry turkey."
Charlotte is half French and half English — her father Don Ward, founder of The Comedy Store in London, was responsible for changing the way Mumbai views comedy. But the family prefers to focus on their French heritage.
Christmas is a time when everyone in the family helps out. The youngest of three children, Charlotte is usually the one making the cookies, decorating the tree, and helping her mother with last-minute shopping. Charlotte's sister Natalie "is punished with preparing the vegetables", while her mother makes the main dishes. The men in the house collect wood for the fire.
After the meal, everyone gathers around the fireplace to exchange gifts and partake in an old French custom common to the Provence region. "The 13 desserts of Noel come from the 13 disciples at the Last Supper. The desserts are made using figs, apples, grapes, oranges, pears, etc —some dried and some served fresh," says Charlotte. These are served with nuts, butter biscuits and cookies, accompanied by tea, coffee or liqueur. While most Catholics in France follow a very traditional Christmas, a few succumb to time and work pressures. For them, the meal consists of just the turkey and the thirteen desserts are replaced with macaroons.
Before opening the presents, the Ward family has a round of speeches. "We take turns talking about the worst parts of the year and then raise a toast to the best moments. My father, the head of the family, gives a longer speech, thanking everyone and toasting to the future," she says.
Given the availability of turkey, fresh fish and different fruits, expats might find it easy enough to celebrate a traditional French Christmas in Mumbai. But for Ward, who can whip up a delicious Buche de Noel in two hours, Christmas is about spending time with family in France, and indulging in the one thing she misses in India: foie gras.
She misses her dad’s stollen and kipferl
German expat Nicole Illa says her dad always made the sweets at home and still does
Nicole Illa has lived away from her home in Germany for over nine years now, long enough to get used to being on her own. Yet, as Christmas draws near, she finds herself missing the stuffed goose and stollen that forms the traditional Christmas lunch back home.
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