The holiday season is often a time for coming together, sharing special meals, and making memories. These gatherings are about tradition and connecting us to our past. But have you ever wondered how Christmas dinner came to be?
In medieval times, Christmas was celebrated with grand feasts featuring roasted meat on a spit and lavish treats. Over the centuries, this changed, and turkey became the favourite dish for many families in Europe. The evolution of the Christmas dinner reflects how people, customs, and food have changed through time.
In this article, we’ll explore the origins of the traditional turkey dinner, look at what’s served on Christmas tables across Europe, and uncover the story of how Christmas dinner came to be.
Was turkey always part of Christmas?
While turkey is often considered the Christmas ‘go-to’, if we look across Europe and back across history, Christmas (and other festive meals) weren’t always about turkey, and many countries in Europe eat very differently. Let’s look at some of these festive meals and see how they came about.
Fish
In parts of Central Europe, Christmas Eve dinner is often considered even more important than Christmas Day itself. The main meal traditionally features fish, a custom with deep historical roots. During the Middle Ages, the Catholic tradition of fasting meant that meat was forbidden, but fish (including carp) was allowed. Families would prepare roast carp, sometimes keeping the fish alive in a bathtub for a few days before cooking it. This tradition still survives in some areas today.1 Carp was thought to bring good luck, with some people keeping its scales in their wallets until the following Christmas Eve. On Christmas Day, families celebrate with rich feasts featuring poultry and pork, but fish on Christmas Eve remains a big part of the region’s festive tradition.
Pig
Pork and ham have long been festive favourites across Europe. In medieval times, families would slaughter pigs in November to prepare bacon, hams, and other preserved meats for the holiday. Pigs were fattest just before winter (as they’d been growing since spring), and the cold weather made storage easier.2 Monks, who ate simple food most of the year, indulged at Christmas, enjoying large feasts with roasted pork.3 These traditions continue, with many households in Norway, Sweden, Latvia, and Spain still serving ham, pork, or gammon as the centrepiece of Christmas dinner.6
Goose
Historically, roast goose was the star of the Christmas table. Just like with pigs, mid-winter meant the birds were at their fattest, having roamed farmyards picking up grain throughout the harvest season.4 Goose remains popular in several European countries, including Germany, Austria, and Slovenia, even as turkey has become more common.5
Turkey
The turkey was introduced to the UK from the Americas in the 1500s and gradually became a festive favourite in households over the following centuries.4 At first, turkey was expensive, like all rare foods. Many families chose more affordable options such as goose and chicken. But as turkeys became cheaper, it soon became the most popular Christmas dish in the UK. Due to the influence of the British Empire, the tradition of eating turkey for Christmas spread to other countries, such as Ireland.
Even today, European Christmas dinners reflect a mix of tradition, family habits, and cultural heritage. Many households enjoy turkey, ham, goose, or fish, depending on where they live and their beliefs.
Curious why some foods are considered luxury items? Find out what makes them so special in our article on luxurious foods
What’s on the table for Christmas in these European countries?6
- In Spain, families often enjoy suckling pig.
- In Slovakia, carp is a common choice.
- Austrians typically serve roast goose.
- In France, turkey takes centre stage.
Why do we feast at Christmas?
Christmas, now celebrated by people of many faiths and cultures, began as a Christian festival marking the birth of Christ. The first recorded Christmas celebration was in 336 CE, when early Christian leaders chose December 25th as the day to celebrate the occasion. Around this time of year, many cultures already held midwinter celebrations honouring light, renewal, and community. For many cultures, past and present, midwinter is a time to come together, share food, and celebrate with loved ones
Before the feast, it was common for Christians to fast or avoid certain foods such as meat or eggs for up to 40 days.6 7 This was a way to practice self-control and make the celebration more meaningful.
Traditionally, Christmas Eve was the ‘vigil of Christmas’, which meant the last day of fasting. Meat was often banned until Christmas Day. This helps explain why fish remains a popular choice for Christmas Eve dinner in countries such as Germany, where the festive feast is still eaten the evening before rather than Christmas Day.8
In some ways, the big Christmas dinner feast after a long period of fasting or eating more modestly made sense. But nowadays most of us don’t fast or abstain before Christmas. And when Christmas does come, we often tend to overeat and buy food that’s shipped from all over the world. So, while it’s wonderful to celebrate Christmas, we can also revive the true spirit of the holiday by choosing local, more sustainable foods, just as our ancestors once did.
Is it time to make Christmas more sustainable?
Many traditional Christmas feasts revolve around large, meaty meals. Historically, these feasts were a rare chance to enjoy meat after long periods of fasting throughout November and December. Today, meat and fish are widely available and form part of many people’s everyday diets. This does have an environmental impact. Livestock farming contributes almost 15% of global man-made greenhouse gas emissions.9
Some options to make Christmas more sustainable could include:
Changing the focus: you could try something new this Christmas and swap turkey or ham for a flavoursome nut roast. If you’re not ready to change your centrepiece just yet, then simply reducing the amount of meat at the table, and focusing on creative, delicious vegetable side dishes, will help make your Christmas more sustainable.
Food waste: minimising food waste at this time of year is particularly important. While feasting generally celebrates excess, we need to protect our planet. By putting together a plan for all those Christmas leftovers (think pies that can be frozen, or making a stock with leftover over meat bones), you can feel good that you won’t be adding to the food waste problem.
These changes allow us to enjoy festive meals while reducing their environmental impact.
Enjoy your festive feast and make it sustainable! Plan your portions, save leftovers, and get creative with ingredients to reduce food waste this Christmas. Learn more tips in our article about food waste.
Celebrate your way
From medieval banquets to festive fish dishes and vegetarian meals, Christmas dinner reflects who we are. Each dish tells a story about history, culture, and how people have adapted their celebrations over time.
It’s worth remembering that Christmas can look very different for everyone. Not everyone feels the need to host a grand feast, and that’s perfectly okay. The holiday is about togetherness and your own traditions in whatever form works best for you and your family.
