15 British Food Traditions Around Christmas

Holiday festivities are officially in full swing, with parties, presents, winter concerts, and lights aglow. It's a busy time of year that involves festivals, holidays, and celebrations from many cultures and communities, including Christmas, Hanukkah, Diwali, and Kwanza. There's certainly no shortage of twinkling lights, gestures of generosity, and wishes for peace. Such lights become beacons of encouragement, helpful for those in the Northern Hemisphere whose daylight hours keep shrinking. For those living in the United Kingdom, night has extended itself from 4 p.m. until 7 a.m., making it all the more necessary to warm and uplift ourselves and our spirits by the glow of the menorah, candle, or Christmas tree.

Christmas in the U.K., though still containing some similar features to celebrations in the United States and elsewhere, also comes with its specific traditions, foods, and rituals. Their nuance, ritual, and sense of history act as a secret sauce, making each a little more delicious. As someone who has come to understand the ins and outs of British Christmas food traditions through years of experience, I can say each is uniquely endearing in its own right. Here are just some of the landmark foods, flavors, and features of Christmas you can expect to find across Great Britain.

Unlike the subpar, slightly misunderstood, stateside reputation of fruit cake, Brits hold their love of the dish close to their hearts and plates. They've even marked the time of year when folks nationwide begin to prep their Christmas cakes, known lovingly as 'Stir-up Sunday.' It's a centuries-old British food tradition that takes place the last Sunday before Advent begins. Made of dried fruits, spices, and the all-important brandy (optional), the cakes then have time to rest, set, and (if you're using it) be fed more alcohol before serving on Christmas Day. 

Though now part of the national Christmas repertoire, the modern-day Christmas cake, heavy and often topped with a layer of marzipan following a layer of fondant icing perfect for decorating, didn't always take this form. For those humming the tune "We Wish You a Merry Christmas," the figgy pudding the song speaks of closely resembles the bake's original form, designed to help tide over those who were more religious and would spend the day fasting. It has since morphed, first into Christmas pudding, and then onto the cake, bought, sold, and stirred up in frenzied crowds across the nation. 

For those looking to assemble rather than bake, per se, trifle is a popular item. It is often present at Christmas and throughout the year. A trifle consisting of lemon Swiss roll and amaretti was crowned as the commemorating dish of the late Queen's Platinum Jubilee. Needless to say, trifles are a beloved British food tradition, whether on Christmas or otherwise.

One of the best characteristics of this dessert is the play on textures and the highly customizable list of ingredients, from fruit-based creation to chocolaty black forest recipes. Swiss roll, custard, fruit, chocolate, berries, cream, jam, and jelly (or Jell-O across the pond) are all viable choices. If only adults are partaking in the layered and luscious dessert, a good helping of sherry can also be poured over the sponge of the jelly roll to create a sweet, boozy heaven. When eaten with stewed fruits like peaches and pears, a silky custard, or topped with fresh whipped cream and dark chocolate shavings, it is the ultimate do-ahead Christmas dessert and crowd pleaser. It is definitely a personal favorite on this list.

Not to be confused with the crispy bread served with a cheese board, Christmas crackers are not quite a food but a Christmas tradition at the dinner table. The tube-shaped parcel, often containing a prize, a joke, and a paper crown, is bookended with excess paper on each end for pulling. The tradition, which involved two guests pulling at each end in hopes of breaking off the prize, much like a wishbone, has since made its way to the U.S., though it has been part of the holiday traditions in the U.K. for over 150 years.

The Christmas cracker, as Brits know it, was first invented in London by an East End confectioner and baker named Tom Smith. The shape was inspired by the bonbons of Paris. When pulled simultaneously by two dinner guests, the friction results in an audible pop and cracking sound, devised by a second source of inspiration: the crack of a burning log. Christmas crackers are a little bit of fun. They're a great ice breaker if sitting with guests you don't know very well, encouraging folks not to take themselves too seriously by wearing the colorful paper crowns tucked inside (provided it fits your head).

With a few exceptions, tweaks, and twists, a traditional Christmas dinner in the U.K. can look and taste an awful lot like American Thanksgiving, with several mainstay ingredients making their annual appearances. Such features include stuffing, seasonal root vegetables, potatoes, and the proverbial centerpiece: turkey. As Thanksgiving isn't celebrated across the pond, Brits aren't yet tired of it by the time Christmas rolls around.

Unlike in America, turkey is not native to the U.K., making it a slightly head-scratching choice that has been eaten as a part of Christmas tradition for hundreds of years. Instead, the bird was brought from America by way of 16th-century Spanish conquistadors. Eventually, it was served to King Henry VIII, thus qualifying itself as a luxury item fit for royalty, and by the 19th century (and a host of turkey breeding attempts), the practice trickled down to the British public. 

Christmas goose is also a popular, though a more expensive, alternative to turkey, stemming from Queen Elizabeth I in the late 16th century. Goose is also an auspicious tradition and a sign of good luck and prosperity, served during the feast of Saint Michael and All Angels, known as Michaelmas, in early autumn. 

There's an unspoken rule in some households that suggests anyone who sits down to Christmas dinner (or lunch, depending on when you eat) must consume at least one Brussels sprout to commemorate the season. Or, at the very least, put one on your plate, even if it remains there. Like cabbage, sprouts are one of the few green things to come out of the ground at this time of year, so it makes sense that they've been incorporated into the Christmas meal. They're such a British mainstay in the annual Christmas meal that the British are known for eating more sprouts than any other European country; we're not quite sure if this counts as bragging rights. 

Originally from Rome, having migrated to Belgium, where they were first officially recorded (hence their name), Brussels sprouts are part of the hearty Brassicaceae family. Brussels sprouts have an underlying sweetness to them that goes incredibly well when roasted with bacon and chestnuts or simply steamed and served with butter and herbs. Christmas feasts do well with a bit of green on the table, and these guys are a seasonal solution to do just that.

This festive favorite has confused Americans, who know pigs in a blanket to mean hot dogs wrapped in puff pastry — no hot dogs or pastry in this meaty British mainstay. Instead, pigs in blankets in the U.K. means streaky bacon-wrapped sausages. If you've made this mistake before, you're far from the only one. Even New York Magazine once confused the two, mistakingly calling Tom Hank's Super Bowl dish a tribute to the British' pigs in blankets' instead of sausage rolls — the correct U.K. terminology for a hot dog or sausage wrapped in puff pastry. 

When it comes to pigs in blankets, pork and meat eaters tend to consider this the best part of the meal — you can't make too many. Thankfully, they're also easy to make, simply by wrapping a piece of streaky bacon tightly around the sausage, often chipolata. Then, lay sausages on a baking tray and put them into a hot oven until the bacon is cooked and caramelized. They are smoky, salty, and a bit sweet, especially if using maple-glazed bacon, and are always a welcome treat at the Christmas table.

Though the upkeep of this particular tradition may pertain more to the older generations, it's hard to imagine a Christmas Day celebration in the U.K. without thinking of the H.M.'s Christmas speech, delivered every year on December 25th at 3 p.m. Depending on when the main meal is served, many families and hosts use this as an invitation for a toast and a drink alongside a snack, either as a precursor or marking the end of the main Christmas Day feast.

The first Christmas Day broadcast speech by a king or queen was delivered by King George V in 1932 and has carried on ever since. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth was responsible for 69 speeches, only missing one year — 1969 — when she wrote a letter instead. Unlike elected members of parliament, who must refrain from referring to any non-secular practice or reference in their speeches, the monarch takes up the role as head of the Church of England and, therefore, is allowed to mention god. Frequently, the speech reflects the previous year, measured in its delivery, with encouraging themes of peace and family.