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The Origins of Our Beloved Christmas Day Feast

There’s something truly magical about Christmas Day in the UK - the twinkling lights, the festive cheer, and, of course, the sumptuous feast that brings everyone together.

But have you ever paused between bites of your Christmas pudding to wonder about the origins of these traditional dishes? Let’s embark on a culinary journey through history, supported by classic literary references, to uncover the stories behind our favourite festive foods and drinks.

Along the way, we’ll see how the Christmas spirit, as captured in timeless tales, still influences how we celebrate—both in what we eat and in the compassion, generosity, and joy we share.

I've included a link to the Christmas stories I am talking about on Project Guttenberg so you can download them.  Why not take the opportunity to indulge in Jolabokaflod, the Icelandic tradition of giving a book on Christmas Eve, by reading one of the classic stories in this blog?

Obviously not!

​​When it comes to Christmas, few things bring as much joy as a delicious cheese board or a thoughtfully selected cheese gift. Cheese adds that perfect, indulgent touch to holiday gatherings, whether it’s served on a festive platter or gifted to a fellow foodie. So, if you're thinking about adding some cheesy goodness to your Christmas season, you’re in the right place! Let’s explore all the delightful ways to enjoy cheese this holiday.

In this blog, I'm looking at cheese and its role at Christmas.  Want to hear the extended blog?  Then, you can listen to it on my podcast.  Just scroll to the end of this blog to go to the recording

As a kid, we would sing the Wassail song as part of our school Christmas concerts.  Even so, I've never been wassailing ... Probably because there wasn't much call for it around Wimbledon. 

The song is also known as The Gloucester Wassail Song and is often included in hymn selections along with songs such as The Holly & The Ivy.

​When I started visiting Christmas Markets I discovered Glühwein and have a fantastic collection of Christmas mugs from the different markets.

Last year I missed out on my Christmas Cheese order by a few days. 

So, when I was able to order early, this weekend, I was reminded of how my mum paid the milkman a pound extra each week so that at Christmas she had a 'hamper' delivered with special Christmas food.

​I think she would start around easter and it cost about £30 which, when the weekly shop was around £20 was a massive amount of money.

Although our milkman was Unigate, I found this ad from the period for Express Dairies which gives a taste of what you could save for.  We used to go for the cupboard food bundle as mum would put away a few pounds each week with the butcher, in order to pay for the meat at Christmas.

A Christmas biscuit selection box - one each of savoury cheese for biscuits and sweet biscuits. A packet of Cornish biscuits (I loved their texture). The classic McVitie's Tunis cake ... a joy to behold with its marzipan fruits on top (see the link for more on this 1970s delight) and some glace fruit.

There would be tins of soup ... Always Baxters... I still think of these as being posh because of that. Tinned vegetables;  including a tin of Heinz Russian salad, which was basically carrots, beans, peas and potatoes in salad cream .. in a tin!

A couple of packets of nuts would also be in there. Always KP. Always peanuts and a packet of either mixed nuts or cashews.

And for the tinned fruit ... tropical fruit cocktail. The same as a standard fruit cocktail, but with pineapple. And talking of pineapple, there would be that tin of crushed pineapple that no one knew what to do with and lived in the back of the cupboard until Christmas next year when mum would make us eat it for tea one day because you legally couldn't have two tins of it in the house or the world would end.

Pickles were always a big thing in the box. Piccalilli, which was so yellow with no forbidden food colours that it almost glowed in the dark. Those mini gherkins that were so hard, along with silver skin onions, rock hard olives and maraschino flavoured cherries because, at Christmas every woman would be whipping up a dry Martini for her husband and popping a maraschino cherry into her Cinzano Rousso and lemonade.

There would be a crate of soft drinks ... Always corona because 'every bubble has passed it fizzical'. I would be allocated one bottle of limeade and one bottle of cherryade to get through the festivities. There would be masses of lemonade because ... Well, you need something to add to your Cinzano. Although I strongly believe that mum and her friends had basically lemonade with a dash of Cinzano so it looked pink and smelt exotic.

If mum had a bit extra money, she would go for the top tier hamper which would also have two bottles of wine; always a choice between Blue Nun, Black Tower and Matteus Rose (do you like Demis Roussou?).

There would be an advent calendar (paper ... no chocolates in it in the 70s), some paper chain papers to make up and a card from the milk man.

It was such a big thing opening up the box. We'd all sit round and ooh and hah as each item was pulled out from the shredded wood and put into little groups on the carpet.