Of course, we have a lot of different holiday foods here in Canada that vary by region and even by family, but a classic turkey dinner is often what first comes to mind for the holidays.<\/p>\n
France \u2014\u00a0B\u00fbche de No\u00ebl<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\nDirectly translated as \u201clog of Christmas,\u201d the B\u00fbche de No\u00ebl is France\u2019s version of a Yule Log cake. The eye-catching cake roll is usually decorated with chocolate frosting mimicking tree bark and small meringue or marzipan pieces shaped into mushrooms.<\/p>\n
Mexico \u2014 Tamales<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\nDating back to ancient Mesoamerican cultures, the tamale, masa, and meat filling wrapped in a corn husk, has long been eaten during celebrations. Now, it holds an extra special place for Mexican and Mexican-American families who often hold\u00a0tamaladas\u00a0(tamale-making parties) to churn out the delicious tamales en masse.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/AdobeStock_299974556-3.jpeg\")
<\/h4>\nJapan \u2014 Kentucky Fried Chicken<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\nKentucky Fried Chicken has been a popular Christmas go-to in Japan ever since a\u00a0very<\/em>\u00a0successful marketing campaign in the 1970s. During that time, a KFC franchise decided to run a special promotion during Christmas. Since there weren\u2019t any strong Christmas traditions in Japan, the novelty caught on and became an instant tradition.<\/p>\nItaly \u2014 Feast of the Seven Fishes<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\nOriginally a southern Italian tradition, many Italian families prepare the Feast of the Seven Fishes for Christmas Eve dinner. Seven seafood dishes representing the number seven, the most repeated number in the Bible, are made for the massive meal.<\/p>\n
Israel \u2014 Latkes<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\nFreshly fried in plenty of oil, crispy potato latkes are eaten throughout Hanukkah. The holiday marks how a small amount of oil meant to light the menorah lasted a miraculous eight days during the rededication of the Holy Temple back in 164 BC. Now, latkes have become synonymous with Hanukkah as the oil-laden pancakes are a symbol of the oil miracle.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/latkas-M.jpeg\")
<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\nEngland \u2014 Mince pie<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\nWhile we might think of pumpkin or pecan pie for the holidays, in England, mince pies take center stage as the pie of choice. The sweet treat supposedly dates back to the 1300s when knights returned from the Crusades with new spices. Nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon are mixed with dried fruit, called \u201cmincemeat,\u201d and baked into a pie.<\/p>\n
Philippines \u2014 Lechon<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\nThough lechon, roast suckling pig, is popular in several parts of the world, it\u2019s particularly important in the Philippines. Often thought of as one of the country\u2019s national dishes, lechon also plays a role on holidays and especially around Christmas, when it\u2019s enjoyed for dinner on Christmas Eve.<\/p>\n
Poland\u00a0\u2014 Red borscht<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\nIn Poland, a carefully prepared Christmas Eve feast called Wiglia begins as soon as the first star appears in the sky. The special meal traditionally includes 12 dishes, representing the 12 apostles, including\u00a0barszcz, a beet soup also known as red borscht, as well as herring, carp, poppy seed cakes, and more.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/beet-borscht-M.jpeg\")
<\/h4>\nAustralia \u2014 Barbecued shrimp and pavlova<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\nWhile winter and Christmas go hand-in-hand in the northern hemisphere, most Australians can\u2019t fathom having a white Christmas. By the end of December, summer is in full swing, and Christmas dinners make use of the outside barbecue rather than roasting ovens. Barbecued shrimp is often on the menu, as is pavlova, crispy meringue topped with fresh berries and cream.<\/p>\n
Spain \u2014 12 grapes\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\nCelebrate New Year\u2019s Eve with Spaniards and they\u2019ll make sure you have 12 grapes in your hand, ready to be scarfed down as the clock strikes midnight, for good luck in the coming year. Accounts differ on how this tradition came to be, but it\u2019s as widespread as singing \u201cHappy Birthday\u201d for someone\u2019s birthday\u2026everyone does it!<\/p>\n
China \u2014 Longevity noodles<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\nDuring China\u2019s Lunar New Year, people will make sure to have long noodles, or \u201clongevity noodles,\u201d at their feast for good luck. The longer the noodle, the longer the life! Whoever prepares the noodles makes sure not to cut or break them, while the person enjoying them will gain even more luck if they can eat them without biting through the long pieces.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Crispy latkes laden with sour cream, sweet-smelling fruit pies spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg, roasted turkey paired with creamy mashed potatoes and tangy cranberry sauce, a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken\u2026 The holidays are almost upon us, which means plenty of specialty dishes we can\u2019t wait to sink our teeth into. (Yes, we meant to Read More …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5389,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[85,137,634730,58,74,70,40,634731,634732,227,634733,634734,17,217,140,634735,158,83],"class_list":["post-5227","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-explorica-news","tag-australia","tag-china","tag-cuisine","tag-educational-travel","tag-england","tag-food","tag-france","tag-global","tag-holiday-dish","tag-holidays","tag-international","tag-israel","tag-italy","tag-japan","tag-mexico","tag-philippines","tag-poland","tag-spain"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5227","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5227"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5227\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5245,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5227\/revisions\/5245"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5389"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5227"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5227"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5227"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Dating back to ancient Mesoamerican cultures, the tamale, masa, and meat filling wrapped in a corn husk, has long been eaten during celebrations. Now, it holds an extra special place for Mexican and Mexican-American families who often hold\u00a0tamaladas\u00a0(tamale-making parties) to churn out the delicious tamales en masse.<\/p>\n
<\/h4>\nJapan \u2014 Kentucky Fried Chicken<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\nKentucky Fried Chicken has been a popular Christmas go-to in Japan ever since a\u00a0very<\/em>\u00a0successful marketing campaign in the 1970s. During that time, a KFC franchise decided to run a special promotion during Christmas. Since there weren\u2019t any strong Christmas traditions in Japan, the novelty caught on and became an instant tradition.<\/p>\nItaly \u2014 Feast of the Seven Fishes<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\nOriginally a southern Italian tradition, many Italian families prepare the Feast of the Seven Fishes for Christmas Eve dinner. Seven seafood dishes representing the number seven, the most repeated number in the Bible, are made for the massive meal.<\/p>\n
Israel \u2014 Latkes<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\nFreshly fried in plenty of oil, crispy potato latkes are eaten throughout Hanukkah. The holiday marks how a small amount of oil meant to light the menorah lasted a miraculous eight days during the rededication of the Holy Temple back in 164 BC. Now, latkes have become synonymous with Hanukkah as the oil-laden pancakes are a symbol of the oil miracle.<\/p>\n
<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\nEngland \u2014 Mince pie<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\nWhile we might think of pumpkin or pecan pie for the holidays, in England, mince pies take center stage as the pie of choice. The sweet treat supposedly dates back to the 1300s when knights returned from the Crusades with new spices. Nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon are mixed with dried fruit, called \u201cmincemeat,\u201d and baked into a pie.<\/p>\n
Philippines \u2014 Lechon<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\nThough lechon, roast suckling pig, is popular in several parts of the world, it\u2019s particularly important in the Philippines. Often thought of as one of the country\u2019s national dishes, lechon also plays a role on holidays and especially around Christmas, when it\u2019s enjoyed for dinner on Christmas Eve.<\/p>\n
Poland\u00a0\u2014 Red borscht<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\nIn Poland, a carefully prepared Christmas Eve feast called Wiglia begins as soon as the first star appears in the sky. The special meal traditionally includes 12 dishes, representing the 12 apostles, including\u00a0barszcz, a beet soup also known as red borscht, as well as herring, carp, poppy seed cakes, and more.<\/p>\n
<\/h4>\nAustralia \u2014 Barbecued shrimp and pavlova<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\nWhile winter and Christmas go hand-in-hand in the northern hemisphere, most Australians can\u2019t fathom having a white Christmas. By the end of December, summer is in full swing, and Christmas dinners make use of the outside barbecue rather than roasting ovens. Barbecued shrimp is often on the menu, as is pavlova, crispy meringue topped with fresh berries and cream.<\/p>\n
Spain \u2014 12 grapes\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\nCelebrate New Year\u2019s Eve with Spaniards and they\u2019ll make sure you have 12 grapes in your hand, ready to be scarfed down as the clock strikes midnight, for good luck in the coming year. Accounts differ on how this tradition came to be, but it\u2019s as widespread as singing \u201cHappy Birthday\u201d for someone\u2019s birthday\u2026everyone does it!<\/p>\n
China \u2014 Longevity noodles<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\nDuring China\u2019s Lunar New Year, people will make sure to have long noodles, or \u201clongevity noodles,\u201d at their feast for good luck. The longer the noodle, the longer the life! Whoever prepares the noodles makes sure not to cut or break them, while the person enjoying them will gain even more luck if they can eat them without biting through the long pieces.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Crispy latkes laden with sour cream, sweet-smelling fruit pies spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg, roasted turkey paired with creamy mashed potatoes and tangy cranberry sauce, a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken\u2026 The holidays are almost upon us, which means plenty of specialty dishes we can\u2019t wait to sink our teeth into. (Yes, we meant to Read More …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5389,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[85,137,634730,58,74,70,40,634731,634732,227,634733,634734,17,217,140,634735,158,83],"class_list":["post-5227","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-explorica-news","tag-australia","tag-china","tag-cuisine","tag-educational-travel","tag-england","tag-food","tag-france","tag-global","tag-holiday-dish","tag-holidays","tag-international","tag-israel","tag-italy","tag-japan","tag-mexico","tag-philippines","tag-poland","tag-spain"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5227","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5227"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5227\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5245,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5227\/revisions\/5245"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5389"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5227"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5227"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5227"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Kentucky Fried Chicken has been a popular Christmas go-to in Japan ever since a\u00a0very<\/em>\u00a0successful marketing campaign in the 1970s. During that time, a KFC franchise decided to run a special promotion during Christmas. Since there weren\u2019t any strong Christmas traditions in Japan, the novelty caught on and became an instant tradition.<\/p>\n Originally a southern Italian tradition, many Italian families prepare the Feast of the Seven Fishes for Christmas Eve dinner. Seven seafood dishes representing the number seven, the most repeated number in the Bible, are made for the massive meal.<\/p>\n Freshly fried in plenty of oil, crispy potato latkes are eaten throughout Hanukkah. The holiday marks how a small amount of oil meant to light the menorah lasted a miraculous eight days during the rededication of the Holy Temple back in 164 BC. Now, latkes have become synonymous with Hanukkah as the oil-laden pancakes are a symbol of the oil miracle.<\/p>\n While we might think of pumpkin or pecan pie for the holidays, in England, mince pies take center stage as the pie of choice. The sweet treat supposedly dates back to the 1300s when knights returned from the Crusades with new spices. Nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon are mixed with dried fruit, called \u201cmincemeat,\u201d and baked into a pie.<\/p>\n Though lechon, roast suckling pig, is popular in several parts of the world, it\u2019s particularly important in the Philippines. Often thought of as one of the country\u2019s national dishes, lechon also plays a role on holidays and especially around Christmas, when it\u2019s enjoyed for dinner on Christmas Eve.<\/p>\n In Poland, a carefully prepared Christmas Eve feast called Wiglia begins as soon as the first star appears in the sky. The special meal traditionally includes 12 dishes, representing the 12 apostles, including\u00a0barszcz, a beet soup also known as red borscht, as well as herring, carp, poppy seed cakes, and more.<\/p>\n While winter and Christmas go hand-in-hand in the northern hemisphere, most Australians can\u2019t fathom having a white Christmas. By the end of December, summer is in full swing, and Christmas dinners make use of the outside barbecue rather than roasting ovens. Barbecued shrimp is often on the menu, as is pavlova, crispy meringue topped with fresh berries and cream.<\/p>\n Celebrate New Year\u2019s Eve with Spaniards and they\u2019ll make sure you have 12 grapes in your hand, ready to be scarfed down as the clock strikes midnight, for good luck in the coming year. Accounts differ on how this tradition came to be, but it\u2019s as widespread as singing \u201cHappy Birthday\u201d for someone\u2019s birthday\u2026everyone does it!<\/p>\n During China\u2019s Lunar New Year, people will make sure to have long noodles, or \u201clongevity noodles,\u201d at their feast for good luck. The longer the noodle, the longer the life! Whoever prepares the noodles makes sure not to cut or break them, while the person enjoying them will gain even more luck if they can eat them without biting through the long pieces.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Crispy latkes laden with sour cream, sweet-smelling fruit pies spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg, roasted turkey paired with creamy mashed potatoes and tangy cranberry sauce, a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken\u2026 The holidays are almost upon us, which means plenty of specialty dishes we can\u2019t wait to sink our teeth into. (Yes, we meant to Read More …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5389,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[85,137,634730,58,74,70,40,634731,634732,227,634733,634734,17,217,140,634735,158,83],"class_list":["post-5227","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-explorica-news","tag-australia","tag-china","tag-cuisine","tag-educational-travel","tag-england","tag-food","tag-france","tag-global","tag-holiday-dish","tag-holidays","tag-international","tag-israel","tag-italy","tag-japan","tag-mexico","tag-philippines","tag-poland","tag-spain"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5227","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5227"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5227\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5245,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5227\/revisions\/5245"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5389"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5227"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5227"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5227"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Italy \u2014 Feast of the Seven Fishes<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n
Israel \u2014 Latkes<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n
<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\nEngland \u2014 Mince pie<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n
Philippines \u2014 Lechon<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n
Poland\u00a0\u2014 Red borscht<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n
<\/h4>\nAustralia \u2014 Barbecued shrimp and pavlova<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n
Spain \u2014 12 grapes\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n
China \u2014 Longevity noodles<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n