Carolling In Europe – an online eTwinning project

An Irish Christmas Dinner

Nowadays almost everyone eats turkey for dinner on Christmas day, though some people prefer Goose, which is probably more ‘traditional’. Most people also have roast ham, along with the turkey. The turkey is usually accompanied with cranberry sauce. Dinner is usually eaten in the mid-afternoon or early evening on Christmas day, though each family will have its own tradition about both the time of eating and the exact combination of foods that make for a ‘real’ Christmas. The meal will begin with a starter, generally of smoked salmon or prawns, soup or melon. This is followed by a main course of roast turkey (or goose) and ham, accompanied by bread stuffing, roast potatoes, mashed potatoes, gravy and sometime cranberry or bread sauce. The traditional vegetable is brussel sprouts, but celery, carrots, peas, broccoli and others may also be served.

Desserts

Dessert hardly seems a possibility after that little lot – but this is not an ordinary day! Popular choices are Christmas pudding with brandy butter or sherry sauce, mince pies or just a slice of Christmas cake. A sherry trifle is a very common alternative to fruit pudding for Christmas day desserts. Made by soaking sponge cakes in sherry and with lots of fruit, jelly and cream, it is a lighter but still very rich option. Christmas pudding

Christmas cake

This rich, moist and fruity cake is an indispensable part of an Irish Christmas and slices of cake will be served to visitors who call over the Christmas season, often accompanied by Whiskey. Christmas cake is an English tradition. 

Christmas pudding

Also known as ‘Plum Pudding’, though it contains no plums, the pudding is the traditional Christmas day dessert. It’s usually served with a brandy or sherry sauce. It is an English tradition that began as plum porridge. People ate the porridge on Christmas Eve, using it to line their stomachs after a day of fasting. Soon dried fruit, spices and honey were added to the porridge mixture, and eventually it turned into Christmas pudding. The Irish tradition is to pour a drop of brandy on the pudding and set it alight before it is served.

Mince Pies

Hot mince pies around the fire on Christmas night, served with fresh whipped cream is a real treat. These fruity pies are eaten in the run up to Christmas also and are often sold on the street at Christmas fairs. However mince pies originate from Britain.