Christmas dinner

What it is

A Christmas dinner is a shared meal eaten to mark Christmas. It may be held on the evening of 24 December, the evening of 25 December, or at midday on Christmas Day. The table is usually fuller than on an ordinary night, because the meal belongs to a Christian feast day and often forms the centre of a family gathering. In many homes someone says grace before the food is served. What is cooked is not fixed. Each region brings its own dishes, and families pass their own versions down.

The English pattern

In many countries the meal keeps a link with English Christmas food, especially in places that were once British colonies. That pattern centres on roast meat and some kind of pudding. Christmas pudding and Christmas cake both grew out of it. Elsewhere the same frame was filled with local ingredients and local ways of cooking, so that the result is a distinct celebration rather than a copy. Over time, communities have shaped the meal to fit what their own markets, farms and kitchens provide.

Around the world

In the Philippines the meal is called Noche Buena and is served close to midnight on 24 December, after the late Mass. A cured pork leg, hamón, is often the centrepiece, with a ball of Edam cheese and hot cocoa. In Japan, a 1970s advertising campaign made fried chicken a Christmas custom, and shops take orders months ahead. Italy has the cenone on Christmas Eve, meatless by tradition, and a Christmas Day lunch of pasta, meat and sweets. Denmark serves duck or roast pork with rice pudding.

Sweets and drinks

Sweet dishes close the meal in most places. Italy gives panettone, a sweet bread from Milan cut into wedges, and pandoro from Verona, often dusted with vanilla-scented icing sugar. Both are eaten at Christmas and New Year. Filipino tables carry úbe halayá, leche flan and rice cakes, with tsokolate, a thick hot cocoa made from local cacao. Denmark hides a whole almond in its rice pudding, and whoever finds it wins one extra present. Mulled wine is the usual drink in Denmark, Finland and Austria.

Change and custom

The meal keeps moving. Malaysia's large-city hotels serve Christmas buffets that mix Western cooking with local flavours, and in Japan Christmas chicken is reserved months ahead. In Norway, a 2021 survey put pork ribs and lamb ribs far above cod or turkey, and turkey itself is a recent addition linked to migration to the United States. Filipino families urge relatives working abroad to come home, and presents are often opened right after dinner rather than on Christmas morning.

How Christmas dinner is kept

Christmas dinner is kept by Christian families and communities as part of the feast day. The extended family gathers, sometimes after a late service on Christmas Eve, and in the Philippines this service is the Misa de Gallo. Grace may be said before the food. The main dish comes first, usually a roast or a large piece of meat, with side dishes and sauces. Sweets follow, then drinks. Some households eat late on 24 December, others at midday on Christmas Day.

When and where

Christmas dinner falls on 24 or 25 December. It can be eaten on the evening of Christmas Eve, on Christmas Day evening, or at lunchtime on Christmas Day. The date is fixed by the Christian calendar rather than by any local harvest or moon. In Austria, Christmas Eve also marks the end of the pre-Christmas fast.

It is kept wherever Christians celebrate Christmas, and the sources describe it across Europe, Asia and the Americas. In the Philippines it is Noche Buena; in Italy, the cenone and the Christmas Day lunch. Norway, Denmark, Finland, Germany and Austria all have their own versions. Malaysian cities hold Christmas buffets, and Japan keeps it through fried chicken. Former British colonies often follow the English pattern of roast meat and pudding.

What Christmas dinner means

The meal belongs to a feast day, so plenty of food is part of the point. It marks the arrival of Christmastide and gathers the people who matter to each other. In the Philippines, families say that even a simple Noche Buena shows how much family and community unity matters, and they try to bring relatives home. Sharing the table, saying grace and giving the best dishes to guests all carry the same idea: the day is kept together, not alone.

Days Christmas dinner is marked

Questions people ask about Christmas dinner

See also

Saffron bunA golden, spiced yeast roll flavoured with saffron, baked for festive and holy daysHalloweenAn annual observance on 31 October marking the eve of All Saints' Day, rooted in Christian tradition and Celtic heritageGood FridayA solemn Christian holy day commemorating the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ.Holy WeekThe solemn seven days leading to Easter, recalling the final week and Passion of Jesus

Good reading and sources

• The great Christmas taste test 2017The Guardian, Article
• Is turkey still king? How the holiday food tradition is changingCBC, Article
• The great Christmas taste test 2017The Guardian, Article
• Is turkey still king? How the holiday food tradition is changingCBC, Article

• Christmas dinner on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-05.