United States

Many Christmas customs in the United States have been adopted from those in the United Kingdom, although customs from other countries are also found.

Accordingly, the mainstays of the British table are also found in the United States: roast turkey (or other poultry), beef, ham, or pork; stuffing or dressing, corn, squash, green beans, and mashed potatoes are common.

Dessert often reflects the ethnic background of the participants, but examples include pumpkin pie, marzipan, pfeffernusse, sugar cookies, panettone, fruitcake, apple pie, carrot, Buche De Noel, and mince pie.

Children often help their parents in the kitchen making the meal and often get special sweet rewards, like popcorn balls, gingerbread houses, and candy canes, the last usually munched on as they are hung on the tree.

The centerpiece of a sit-down meal varies on the tastes of the host but can be ham or roast beef, particularly since turkey is the mainstay at dinner for the American holiday of Thanksgiving in November, almost exactly one month earlier.

Regional meals offer incredible diversity.

Hawaii has Turkey teriyaki and pork dishes, the latter a carryover from Polynesian and Asian traditions, and often seasoned accordingly with fresh pineapple or soy sauce concoctions.

Virginia has oysters, ham pie, and fluffy biscuits, a nod to its very English 17th century founders.

The Upper Midwest includes dishes from predominately Scandinavian backgrounds such as Lutefisk and mashed rutabaga or turnip.

New England often has desserts like corn pudding or plates with linguica sausage, respectively from Native American and old Portuguese recipes.

In the Southwest and portions of California, both with distinct Spanish heritage and large Hispanic populations, a traditional Christmas dinner might include posole, tamles, empanaditas (mincemeat turnovers) and biscochitos.

In some rural areas, game meats like elk or quail may grace the table, often prepared with recipes that are extremely old: it is likely that similar foodstuffs graced the tables of early American settlers on their first Christmases.

In the United States, it is increasingly not unheard of for people of very different ethnic backgrounds to gather around the table, especially on Christmas Eve when it is common to receive friends as guests and have parties.

Thus, dishes that have been handed down over generations often mix at the table; a feast can include an old Neapolitan recipe for eel as a dish, a plate of black eyed peas (African-American origin) and desserts of French-Canadian origin.

As the Christmas season often runs very close to Hannukah and the U.S. has an extremely large Jewish population, many Christian Americans often invite their Jewish neighbors and friends over for dinner as a sign of goodwill and love: sometimes (and especially in families where more than one religion exists) one shall see a plate of latkes on the table and small bags of chocolate coins for the children alongside the candy canes.

Recipe for Traditional Roast Turkey with Pork, Sage and Onion Stuffing: http://hubpages.com/hub/Best-Roast-Turkey

Recipe for Candy Canes: http://www.recipe-ideas.co.uk/recipes-7/Christmas%20Candy%20Canes.htm

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