Japan
What’s it all about? Despite its Buddhist roots, the Japan of today would be nothing without its magpie approach to popular culture. No movement is too great or too small to be incorporated, from punk rock to... well, Christmas.
Christmas in Japan is now an eager celebration of gaudy cards and shopping, but mostly focused on couples. Much, much bigger is the country’s New Year festival – shogatsu. Traditionally it’s a time to thank the gods for good harvests. Today many Japanese people still decorate their homes with symbolic gestures such as rope ornaments on doors to ward off evil and pieces of rice cake offered as a gift to friendly spirits.
Believing each new year to be a fresh start, the Japanese like to hold special bonenkai parties (“year-forgetting parties”) to shake off worries from the past and to celebrate the coming year.
What’s cooking? Food-wise, dishes are characterised by red and white, both considered lucky colours in Japan (although we’re not sure how lucky they are for Japanese girls – the colours are also used during celebrations to mark each one’s first period).
Dishes might include red beans, red or white fish, and namasu (shredded white radish with carrot). At New Year, the Japanese also eat more formal cuisine called osechi. Packed in a special lacquered jubako box, each food has a particular meaning. For example, prawns represent long life, kuromame (cooked sweet black beans) mean health, kazunoko (herring roe) is linked to fertility, tazukuri (sweet fried sardines) to a good harvest and kurikinton (sweet chestnuts and mashed sweet potato) to happiness.
And in the UK? Matsuri, which has two London branches in Mayfair and Holborn, will be putting on special dishes for New Year, including red and white namasu and kamaboko (fish cakes). Tel: 020 7430 1970 (High Holborn); 020 7839 1101 (St James).
Sweden
What’s it all about? Christmas preparations in Sweden begin on St Lucia Day (13 December), when children all over the country dress up as Lucia, an Italian saint, by wearing a white robe and a crown of candles.
The big festivities are saved for Christmas Eve, when Tomten, Sweden’s gnome-like version of Father Christmas, delivers presents and families prepare a festive smörgåsbord. On Christmas day it is custom to wear black.
Food is so important that it’s traditional for businesses to invite their employees to a Christmas lunch, known as jullunch, as a thank-you to workers. Less festive is the Swedish newspapers’ annual custom to publish name-and-shame laboratory test results from restaurant jullunches with dubious hygiene habits, to highlight the potential dangers lurking in cold meats and mayonnaise left out at room temperature.
What’s cooking? A special Christmas smörgåsbord is put on for the festivities with a baked ham as its centrepiece – “our turkey”, according to Swedish chef Christian Sandefeldt. The hams are sweet cured and baked with a mix of breadcrumbs and mustard.
Other festive foods include pickled herring with various sauces, beet salad, salmon, meat balls with onion, sausage, liver pâté and seasonal dishes such as braised red cabbage. Lutefisk – dried cod or ling – is another feature, cured, amazingly, with caustic soda, then boiled. It’s eaten with melted butter, or a béchamel sauce with allspice – or, in Norway, with pea purée and bacon. It’s believed to be a soothing digestif.
Sweets such as sandbakkels (a type of biscuit) and krumkake (literally “crumble cookie”) are also popular, along with orange- or saffron-flavoured rice puddings.
And in the UK? Sandefeldt is planning a smörgåsbord at Deep, while at Swedish restaurant Glas, chef-manager Lottei Karlsson is planning a traditional three-course Swedish Christmas with gravadlax, pickled Baltic herrings, roasted guinea fowl served with hassel back or baked potato, bacon velouté and pickled red cabbage. Deep: Tel: 020 7736 3337; Glas: Tel: 020 7357 6060.
Mexico
What’s it all about? In Mexico, the big festive celebrations are known as las Posadas, which take place in the nine days before Christmas. Streets get crowded with festive parades. Puestos, a type of elaborately decorated market stall, sell all kinds of fruit, cheeses, nuts and cookies.
During las Posadas (which means lodging), families take turns to host parties every night, and in a re-enactment of Mary and Joseph’s journey to find shelter in Bethlehem, guests have to ask for shelter before being invited in. The evening’s highlight is the smashing of the piñata, a type of hollow earthenware pot hung from the ceiling, crammed full of candles and sweets. Children take turns to break open the piñata, which burst open to shower them with goodies.
Mexico’s version of Santa Claus is Quetzalcoatl, the Aztec god of the sun, who has a white beard and wears long, white flowing robes.
What’s cooking? A festive dinner is usually held on Christmas Eve, where typical dishes might include roast turkey, a pineapple and apple salad with nuts, and dry salted cod (bacalhau). On 25 December, people often get together for an informal lunch, or recalentado, meaning literally “to reheat”. Good to know it’s not just the Brits who delight in leftovers.
And in the UK? A special posada evening is planned at Mexican restaurant Mestizo in north London. Menus are likely to include roasted turkey, tamales and capirotada, a traditional Mexican dessert made with bread, sugar cane, pine nuts, raisins and cinnamon. Tel: 020 7387 4064.
Ethiopia
What’s it all about? Ethiopia might not be the first place you’d think of for celebrating Christmas, but Christmas Day – celebrated on 7 January – is an important holiday there. The country even has its own special festive sport called Gena, a type of hockey reputed to have been played by shepherds tending their flocks on the night Jesus was born.
What’s cooking? Although presents don’t play a big part in the festivities, most families gather together for an important celebration meal. Dishes might include doro wat, a spicy chicken stew, served with injera, a type of sourdough pancake like bread, which is used as both a plate and fork.
And in the UK? At Ethiopian restaurant Tobia in Finchley, north London, a big celebration is planned for 7 January. A special menu including anfele (raw lamb) and doro wat is planned, along with music, singing and entertainment. Tel: 020 7431 4213.
Brazil
What’s it all about? Christmas in Brazil isn’t a patch on Carnival. Rather, it’s a laid-back family affair celebrated at home on Christmas Eve with plenty of Champagne and present opening at midnight.
What’s cooking? Since the 1930s Christmas food in Brazil has been influenced by the American way (rather like us). However, what started off as turkey with all the trimmings has now been changed to Chester, a brand of super roaster chicken developed over 20 years ago. Apparently Brazilians thought the turkey was too dry. Some native dishes remain, though. Potatoes are replaced by fried cassava with green grapes (known as farfola) and rice, while gravy is made as more of a thin broth.
On Christmas Day itself all the food is consumed as leftovers – a meal known as enterro dos ossos – “burial of the bones”.
And in the UK? Guanabara will be putting on a special Christmas menu, likely to include rather more outlandish Amazonian concoctions. Think piranha or crocodile. Tel: 020 7242 8600.
Russia
What’s it all about? Christmas is celebrated on 7 January, in accordance with the Orthodox church. As well as huge feast for all the family, it is customary for children to go from house to house collecting sweets and money. Father Christmas is replaced by Ded Maroz (literally Grandfather Frost) who, together with the help of his daughter Snegurochka, delivers presents to children. Grand Pappy Frost gets to fly around in a troika – a carriage pulled by three horses.
What’s cooking? In pre-revolutionary Russia, Christmas was characterised by the most almighty feasts. The aristocracy would splurge on stuffed piglets, stuffed sturgeon, stuffed pheasants and carp baked in the oven with sour cream. Some special festive dishes were shared by both the rich and poor – such as kasha, sweet prunes baked in the oven. These days Christmas dishes include rice and raisins. As can be expected, there is also usually a brain-bamboozling quantity of vodka.
And in the UK? Potemkin in Clerkenwell will serve stuffed piglets and stuffed sturgeon to larger groups (which will need to be pre-ordered), as well as Russian and Polish-vodka based cocktails. Tel. 020 7278 6661.
Philippines
What’s it all about? Arguably the biggest celebration of Christmas anywhere around the world is in the Philippines, where festivities can begin as far back as September, when carols start to be sung. The final build-up starts at midnight on 15 December, when special masses are held for nine consecutive nights until Christmas Day.
At the start of December, everywhere from towns and cities to people’s back gardens are decorated with red lanterns. There are so many islands that it becomes a kind of unofficial contest between which one can end up looking the brightest.
What’s cooking? Because the Philippines is part of the former Spanish empire, there is a strong influence from Spain in everyday life – from Catholicism, through to people’s names and indeed food. Traditional festive dishes are all piled on the same table, include lechon – which is a whole barbecued pig, stuffed with spices, cheese balls and ham –and an alcoholic ginger drink called salabat.
And in the UK? Try the Filipino Restaurant in Earl’s Court (Tel: 020 7244 0007) or Josephine’s on Charlotte St (Tel: 020 7580 6551) for traditional dishes.