Unusual Christmas dishes to surprise your family

Undoubtedly, Christmas dinner feels like a big deal because you spend this holiday with the closest ones, share memories and traditions, discuss ideas and expectations. Wherever you live, and whatever your beliefs are, the chances are you want to create a perfect Christmas food list for your holiday feast. So, how can you make this day even more special?

What about trying different dishes, beverages, or tabletop traditions from different countries? And then the question arises: what if your guests don't like your innovations, shouldn't you go the tried-and-true way and not reinvent the wheel? But the fact is that you can even buy research papers on people's tastes regarding food for Christmas, but the only way to know for sure if your family will like a particular dish is to cook it for them. So it is not really a good idea to make a Christmas Eve feast with only new dishes, but it is worth experimenting with a couple of them. Perhaps one of these unusual dishes will please you so much that you will soon before you go from "unusual" to "traditional".

Of course, it is impossible to list all the countries and their traditions in one article. We are going to share the most interesting (and simple) ideas that you and your family will surely fall in love with. 

Italy 

The interesting fact is that all Italian regions have their unique dishes served on Christmas, but if you spend this day wherever in Italy, you’ll be invited to a Feast of Seven Fishes. If you order a paper about important Italian traditions from a college paper writing service, your author will surely include this information.

Why seven dishes? According to the Holy Bible, seven is a symbolic number (like 13 in other cultures). Usually, the feast includes:

• Linguine with clam or lobster sauce;
• Octopus salad;
• Salt cad called baccala;
• Calamari;
• Baked cod;
• Shrimp cocktail;
• Fried fish or shrimp.
• For dessert, Italians prefer panettone and pandoro. 

Sweden 

Nordic countries like Sweden have their own unique traditions. For example, their traditional Christmas dinner is called Julbord, which served in the smörgåsbord-style. If you visit the Swedish family for Christmas, you’ll have a lot of options to choose from. Would you like famous meatballs? Maybe beets or cabbage? What about rye bread with orange peels? Just like Italians, people from Sweden also cook fish, e.g., Lutefisk. For dessert, you’ll have rice pudding with hidden almonds. And, of course, it is impossible to imagine the holiday table without mulled wine or glogg. 

Germany

German traditions are all about simplicity. And if you’re a big meat lover, you definitely should visit this country for the holidays. All families have ducks, rabbits, gooses, or pork roasts on the table. They come with sausage stuffing and potato dumplings which taste as good as they sound. 

Wondering about traditional German Christmas food for dessert? It looks pretty simple as well — locals will offer you a platter of the cookies made of various types of dough with different spices like vanilla, cardamon, gloves, peels, cinnamon, etc. Each family has its own recipe, and even though Weihnachtsplätzchen takes some time to cook, many Germans are proud to serve their homemade Christmas cookies.

France 

We have mentioned that some countries follow the tradition to have 13 dishes, and France is among them. The holiday foods in France are as sophisticated and refined as this country itself is. French people serve their Christmas tables with various cheeses, turkey, foie gras, and even oysters. When it comes to the main dessert, it is Yule log (or bûche de Noël) — a chocolate cake that was first cooked in the 19th century. The interesting fact is that even the cake has a symbolic meaning. It represents the yule log that French people would burn starting the new year. The same tradition is common in Switzerland, Belgium, and some former French colonies. 

Japan 

We bet that you wouldn’t be pretty much surprised by the fact that Japanese people have extremely unusual Christmas dinner meat. For example, they don’t cook when they can take out KFC foods. In order to not stay hungry due to high demand, people take their orders 2-3 months before holidays. However, they don’t forget about Christmas cake!

Philippines 

If you want to order or cook something really special, why not try the Philippines’ food? Some of their dishes are not that typical, but it is not complicated to cook noodles with meat or vegetables. Or find a restaurant that will cook stewed goat called kaldereta or puto bumbong (it is purple rice with coconut). 

Hungary 

Just like Italian states, different provinces in Hungary have their own traditions, but many families in this country serve common dishes, e.g.:

• Fried fish;
• Carp soup;
• Stuffed Cabbage;
• Chicken, pork, or turkey;
• Dessert Pastry with poppy seeds or chestnuts stuffing;
• Honey bread cookies.

Wrapping things up, it is necessary to remember that Christmas food is one of the ways to celebrate the holiday. It is the biggest fest for Christians, and it is a delightful joy for them to spend time with families and glorify God. Whatever recipes you try and traditions adopt, you should be respectful, pay attention to the history that stands behind the food.