Top foods around the world for the holidays

Christmas is celebrated on Dec. 25 to remember the birth of Jesus Christ. One of the main things that brings the family together for the holiday is Christmas dinner.

North America and Europe’s most popular Christmas dishes are prime rib and a Christmas turkey. Prime rib is a large cut of beef and usually goes with a side of baked sweet potato, Brussels sprouts, biscuits, and a Brussels sprout salad or arugula salad. As for the Christmas turkey, the side dishes usually consist of stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, vegetables, and cranberry sauce. 

Some of the more popular side dishes in North America are potatoes, brussels sprouts, and cranberry sauce. Some of these side dishes are roasted garlic mashed potatoes, herb roasted potatoes, cheesy Brussels sprout bake, mashed potatoes, cranberry brie pull-apart bread, honey balsamic glazed Brussels sprouts, creamed Brussels sprouts, roasted vegetables, sweet potatoes, and many more. 

Central America and South America have a total of 33 countries, but the most popular dish within all the countries are tamales. Tamales are made of corn dough and have a variety of meats, beans, cheese, and vegetables. Tamales are most commonly wrapped in banana leaves or corn husks. Places like El Salvador, Veracruz, Colombia, Guatemala, and Chiapas are some places that make tamales in banana leaves. Meanwhile, Mexico, Brazil, Cuba, and Chile use corn husks. 

The popular side dishes of Central and South America are arroz con leche, bunuelos, platano and empanadas. Arroz con leche consists of white rice, milk, cinnamon sticks, and condensed milk. Bunuelos are made of flour, salt sugar, eggs, milk, cinnamon, and butter. Empanadas consist of dough and a few of the inside fillings are beef, chicken, cheese, chorizo, and vegetables.

Africa’s most popular dish for Christmas is jollof rice with some of the sides being coleslaw, salad, and plantains. Jollof rice consists of tomatoes, onion, chilies, bell pepper, garlic, and curry powder.

Asia’s most popular Christmas dishes are pho and bun, noodle soups, and rice. Pho usually contains bone broth, rice noodles, sliced meat, and a variety of toppings. Bun consists of flour dough and a filling of vegetables, meat, or both.

Lastly, Australia’s most popular dish for Christmas is Ham and turkey; however, Australia has ham and turkey cold due to it being summer during December in Australia. Their side dishes are roast potatoes, salad, and beer bread. Some of Australia’s side salads are pasta salad, caesar potato salad, and more.

Freshman Ivanelys Ramos said, “Christmas dinner helps bring us all together. Growing up in the US, my siblings and I didnt get the same experience as our parents, so cooking cultural dishes helps us connect with our heritage.”