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Christmas dinners from around the world

A platter of Lebanese food with dips, hummus, chicken, dates and greens

There’s no one way to celebrate the most wonderful time of the year – it all depends on where you are, what you love and your own traditions. But there’s one festive theme that’s beloved around the globe, and that’s Christmas dinner.

Whether it’s a roast turkey with endless sides, spicy meat stew, a seafood extravaganza or even no-frills Kentucky Fried Chicken, there’s no holding back when the season for feasting rolls around. Get inspired for your upcoming banquet with these nine traditional Christmas meals from across the world.

1. A traditional turkey dinner in the UK

Christmas dinner in the UK is all about the gut-busting roast. This typically consists of roast turkey – chicken and goose are also popular choices – served with all the trimmings, from stuffing, roast potatoes, parsnips and Brussels sprouts to pigs in blankets (mini sausages wrapped in bacon) and devils on horseback (dates wrapped in bacon). All of this is washed down with plenty of gravy, a dollop of cranberry jelly and a healthy scoop of bread sauce. Regional variations include clootie dumplings (fruit pudding) for dessert in Scotland.

Try a Middle Eastern feast this Christmas. Will Heap /Getty Images

2. Dine on delicious mezze in Lebanon

Alongside the turkey or chicken (traditionally stuffed with spiced rice), the Lebanese Christmas food fest features a range of national foods: kibbeh pie made from bulgur wheat and minced meat; mezze dishes of lamb, hummus and vegetables; and tabbouleh, a Middle Eastern salad made with tomatoes, parsley, onions and mint. Sugar-coated almonds are also a very popular sweet snack to share among Christmas guests.

Closeup of injera be wot, traditional Ethiopian food platter
Dive into a hearty stew and injera in Ethiopia. derejeb/Getty Images

3. Savour a spicy feast during Christmas in Ethiopia

One of the oldest nations in Africa, Ethiopia still follows the Julian calendar, so Christmas falls on 7 January. In the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Ganna (Christmas celebrations) involves a period of fasting on Christmas Eve (6 January), followed by an early mass on Christmas morning.

When fast is broken on Christmas Day, it is with a traditional meal of wat – a spicy meat and vegetable dish served with a type of sourdough flatbread called injera that is used as a plate-turned-edible-spoon to scoop up the thick stew.

A statue of Kentucky Fried Chicken mascot Colonel Sanders sits outside a store front in Japan.
Colonel Sanders has cornered the market on Christmas in Japan. Shutterstock/Quality Stock Arts

4. Celebrate Christmas in Japan with a bucket of KFC

While Christmas Day is not a national holiday in Japan, people…

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