The curtain opens. The audience watches in amazement as Clara and the Prince arrive in the Land of the Sugar Plum Fairy in a sleigh looking like the finest in sugar confections. Light, color and food abound as the two guests are welcomed by dances representing Chinese tea, Arabian coffee, Russian candy, Mother Ginger and her Bon Bons, Marzipan shepherds and (especially) Spanish chocolate. It is Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite, a ballet that tells the Christmas tale of Clara and her beloved nutcracker toy. And more than half the ballet focuses on the desserts and confections traditionally enjoyed during Christmas.
Many families in the United States have Christmas dessert traditions that have been handed down over the years. These traditions, which served to comfort those who came to a foreign country from all over the world, usually originated with Christmas.
These dessert traditions were meant to make life a little sweeter and comfort people in the middle of the darkest winters or who were far from home. In that spirit we’d like to present a round-the-world-tour of special dessert traditions enjoyed for the winter holidays. While not all the countries are represented, many are and we hope this tour gives you a brief taste of the variety of traditions practiced around the world at Christmas.
In Australia and New Zealand December 25 happens to fall in the middle of the summer, rather than during the winter. Christmas day may be spent at the beach and dinner ranges from the traditional roast turkey and plum pudding to salads, cold meat and seafood. Two desserts from “down under” that make an appearance during this time of year are the Pavlova and Anzac biscuits.
The Pavlova cake was invented in honor of the ballerina, Anna Pavlova, when she toured Australia and New Zealand in 1926. It is a light meringue cake with a marshmallow center served with fruit and whipped cream (recipe). Anzac biscuits are coconut oatmeal cookies that first appeared in the ration packs of Australian and New Zealand soldiers during World War I when eggs were scarce (recipe).
In Austria, December 6 is St. Nicholas’s day, when he makes his rounds in bright red bishops robes accompanied by his assistant, Knecht Rupnecht. To good children, St. Nicholas gives sweets and apples, while Knecht Rupnecht waves around a golden rod to scare the wicked children.
On Christmas Eve, following dinner, dessert is usually a chocolate and apricot cake called “Sachertorte” (recipe) or maybe “Weihnachtsbaeckerei,” a type of sugar or butter cookie (recipe).
In Denmark, Christmas is known as “Jul,” the Nordic word for “feast.” Christmas lunches take place throughout the Christmas season, besides the regular Christmas dinner on Christmas day. Families get together to make cookies and sweets, which include vanilla wreaths, "klejner," deep-fried, “Pfefferneuse” (Peppernuts), a spicy, rolled hard cookie that goes well with coffee, and decorated honey-cakes in all kinds of shapes. Another Danish tradition is to create your own marzipan treats by purchasing almond past or marzipan paste at the store, pressing it out, cutting or forming it into shapes or balls or bars, and then rolling it in powdered cocoa, melted chocolate, and/or nuts.
In England, Father Christmas leaves gifts under the Christmas tree for children on Christmas Eve, after they’ve gone to bed, while Christmas day is when families attend church, exchange gifts and have their traditional holiday meal of roast turkey, goose or chicken with potatoes, mince pies and Christmas plum pudding.
Traditionally, plum pudding is prepared a year in advance and left to mellow, occasionally soaked in brandy or cognac as it “sets.” After the Christmas meal, the pudding is doused one last time with brandy, decorated with a holly branch and then lit as it is presented to the table. It is served with “hard sauce,” a butter cream type icing. Sugar plums are another traditional English treat made famous through The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore and Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite. These comfits are a mix of nuts, spices, fruits, butter and sugar.
In France, families usually have a nativity scene or “crèche” displayed prominently in the home for the season, as well as a Christmas tree. Children go to bed early and wait for "le père de Noël" or "le petit Jésus” to leave gifts in their shoes under the tree. On midnight Christmas Eve, after the children have gone to bed, the adults attend Christmas mass, after which is the Christmas supper known as "le réveillon." This supper ranges from roast goose to oysters to turkey and chestnuts. A common dessert that is served is the "bûche de Noël.” It is a chocolate cake in the shape of a log, layered with chocolate cream and dusted with confectioner’s sugar.
In Germany, as in Austria, Christmas begins on December 6, St. Nicholas’s day. December 21, the shortest day of the year, is called St. Thomas’s day. Those who arrive to work late end up being called the Thomas Donkey and become the butt of office jokes. By the end of the day, however, everyone eats “Thomasplitzchen,” an iced current bun, to make life sweet again.
On Christmas Eve families enjoy traditional sweets around the tree that include the “Pfefferneuse” also found in Denmark, “Lebkuchen,” a type of soft gingerbread cookie originally from Nuremburg, and “Stollen,” a fruitcake made of dried fruits, nuts and spices and dusted with powdered.
In Italy, on Christmas Eve people view elaborate Nativity scenes in their cities and towns. After Christmas mass at midnight, Christmas tapers are lit and banquets are set out. As in France, Italian children put out their shoes for La Befana (Ms. Santa Claus) to leave gifts and sweets in. These sweets might include “spumetti,” a chocolate-hazelnut meringue, “panettone,” a cake with candied fruit, “torrone,” a nougat, which is a Sicilian specialty, made with honey, and egg whites “struffoli,” a Neapolitan honey ball (recipe) and “panforte,” a spicy nutbread from Tuscany (recipe).
In Mexico, December 16 begins the journey of Mary and Joseph from Nazareth to Bethlehem, which ends on Christmas Eve at midnight when the birth of the Christ child is announced with fireworks, bells and whistles followed by a midnight mass. After mass is a dinner of traditional Mexican dishes that vary from region to region but which usually include tamales, chile rellenos and rice. A traditional sweet drink served at Christmas is “Champurrado,” or “Chocolate Atole,” a very thick hot chocolate drink (recipe).
In Norway, the main Christmas holiday is on December 25. Instead of attending midnight mass, adults will attend a church service on Christmas day. Christmas meal traditions may vary from district to district, with coastal areas having lutefisk, cod or halibut and other areas having pork and cabbage dishes for their meal. Desserts also range from julekake and cloudberry cream to cream caramel, creamed rice and fruit. Julekake is a Christmas bread flavored primarily with cardamom and candied fruit (recipe). Cloudberries are a small orange berry found all over Scandinavia and harvested in the summer. Cloudberry cream is a dessert made by mixing whipped cream with cloudberries. Usually this is served with almond cookies (recipe).
In Poland, as in Germany and Austria and other Eastern European countries, the celebrations begin on December 6, St. Nicholas’s day. However, the real Christmas celebrations begin the moment the first star is sighted in the sky on Christmas Eve. On that night, people watch the sky hoping to be the first one to cry out, “Gwiazdka,” or “little star.” The moment that first star appears, greetings and good wishes are exchanged and Christmas truly begins. In some places, children are taught that "The Little Star" brings them gifts.
Traditionally, no meat is served during the Christmas meal, “Wigilia.” The meal begins with “oplatek,” which are thin wafers with scenes of the nativity stamped on them. There must be an even number of people at dinner and an odd number of dishes to be eaten during the course of the meal to ensure good luck and room for wealth and success in the coming year. And everyone must get up from the table at the same time when the meal is finished. Sometimes hay is spread beneath the tablecloth to remind everyone that the first Christmas was in a manger.
Dishes vary across regions, but may include poppy seed cake, borscht (beet soup), prune dumplings, and noodles with poppy seeds (poppy seeds are supposed to bring good luck). The poppy seed cake is actually a strudel or roll (recipe). Another dessert that is served at Christmas is “kolaczki,” which is a cream cheese dough, rolled out and shaped and stuffed with fruit, seed or sweet cheese fillings (recipe).
In Spain, bonfires are lit on winter solstice and people jump over the fires as a symbolic way of gaining protection from illness. Fire-jumping is primarily seen in Granada and Jaen. A more common tradition is the “Nacimiento” (nativity scenes), the displaying of elaborate scenes such as those found in Italy. After the sun sets and the stars begin to appear on Christmas Eve, people light small oil lamps and put them in their windows.
For the children of Spain it is the Three Wise Men who bring gifts to put in their shoes. However, instead of being delivered on the traditional Christmas Eve, they are delivered on January 5, the eve of the Epiphany.
After the traditional midnight mass, Christmas dinner is served consisting of dishes such as turkey stuffed with truffles. Desserts and sweets include “almendrados” (almond cookies), “medias lunas de nueces” (nut crescents) (recipe), and caramel custard.
In Sweden, the Christmas season begins with the first Advent Sunday, which is four Sundays before Christmas. Each Sunday a candle is lit representing an aspect of the Christmas season such as Hope, Faith, Joy and Love. December 13 is St. Lucia Day, when someone, usually a son or daughter, is chosen to represent Lucia (the Queen of Light). They will then deliver coffee, rolls, cookies and glogg (mulled wine) to members of the household in the morning while wearing a white gown and a crown of candles (or a cone hat with stars for the boys).
Christmas Eve is a day of rest and dinner is the Swedish “Smorgasbord” and can include, among many other things, ham, lutefisk, Christmas sausage and cabbage pudding. After dinner the “Tomte” or Christmas elf who lives under the floorboards arrives to deliver the gifts (sometimes families will “borrow” neighbors to play the part for their children). Traditional Christmas treats in Sweden are gingerbread cookies (recipe) and rice porridge.
In the end, traditions are what we choose to practice to observe holidays and commemorate events in our lives. While the above traditions are not all-inclusive, we hope they are a good sampling and inspire you to create your own holiday dessert traditions.
