While poor St Nicholas — better known as Santa Claus — somehow manages to squeeze his generous and jovial self down countless chimneys during a single night each year, other waistlines can also be found fast expanding thanks to the plentiful platters which abound during the joyous season of gift giving and food sharing.

With so many delicious treats, especially desserts, to be found in homes and at stores, it is futile to deny the allure of holiday feasting. While the culinary traditions associated with Christmas can vary from country to country, sometimes even city to city, there are some that are cherished and enjoyed by many around the globe.

Fish

Yes, you read that right, fish. The day before Christmas was a day of fasting and abstinence, some traditional Catholics still observe it as such. The dinner that families sit down to eat on Christmas Eve, before heading out to church to attend midnight mass, tends to include no meat. Fish or other seafood is served instead of meat. In fact, The Feast of the Seven Fishes (also called The Vigil) originated in Southern Italy wherein seven fish dishes, salted cod in particular, were served on the night before Christmas.

These days it is more common to serve a single hearty stew that includes seven or more varieties of seafood, but the tradition of not eating meat continues nonetheless. Christmas Day is when meat — usually a generous roast goose, turkey or beef — finds its way onto the dinner table again.

Christmas cake

It is impossible to imagine Christmas without some decadent Christmas cake. Basically a type of fruitcake, this special-occasion confection is usually made in advance. Rich and moist, it is loaded with candied peel, fruits such as raisins, dried cherries and apples; nuts including walnuts, pecans and whole almonds; and spices like cinnamon and ground ginger. A covering of sweet marzipan (almond paste) or sugary icing gives it an additional festive look.

But not everyone appreciates the lusciousness of this traditional cake. They have a long list of complaints against this seasonal delight: too sweet, too heavy, too dense, too fruity and other silly reasons. Christmas cake is to Christmas what sheer khurma is to Eidul-Fitr — an absolute must!

Panettone

This is another Christmas tradition that originated in Italy, Milan to be specific, but has become entrenched across the world especially in the UK and North America. It may perhaps be best described as a giant muffin-shaped fruit bun that usually weighs up to one kilogram. It is part-cake and part-bread, in other words a fruitcake with the fluffy texture of leavened bread. The traditional recipe includes orange zest, honey and raisins while modern variations tend to involve chocolate.

’Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the houseNot a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there. — “A Visit from St Nicholas” by Clement Clarke Moore (1822)

In the first week of December, supermarkets in North America become flooded with panettone sold in plastic bags or fancy cube-shaped boxes for ease of giving it as a gift. It may be enjoyed on its own, soaked in a mixture of eggs and milk to make French toast, or layered with fruits, jelly and thick cream to create a scrumptious trifle. As suddenly as they appeared, the mountains of panettone vanish soon after Christmas.

Hot spiced apple cider

Beat the cold temperatures outside with this sweet and delicious traditional holiday drink. Apple cider is non-alcoholic raw apple juice that has not undergone a filtration process to remove coarse particles of pulp or sediment. So while apple juice is a clear liquid, apple cider tends to be murky in appearance but with a much richer flavour than juice.

While it is delicious enough to be enjoyed in its original form, the cider is even better when it has been warmed up and gently infused with some spices. Add a cinnamon stick, a couple of cloves and some nutmeg, then heat the liquid on low flame for a few minutes. Strain into mugs and enjoy.

Gingerbread

Gingerbread houses and gingerbread men (and women) are favourite sights around Christmas time. Children and adults use sheets of crisp ginger biscuit to create miniature houses that are held together with stiff white icing made with egg whites and powdered sugar. The houses are then decorated with a variety of colourful pieces of candy, the most popular of them being the traditional red-and-white-striped peppermint candy canes.

A less crispy version of the ginger biscuit recipe is used to bake cookies shaped like men and women. Delicately piped icing is used to give the gingerbread people facial features and other intricate details. Need convincing that these human-shaped cookies are traditional Christmas treats? Consider the classic Christmas season ballet The Nutcracker which features a nutcracker solider leading an army of gingerbread men against the villainous Mouse King and his goons. Add to that mental image some dancing Snowflakes and a Sugar Plum fairy to make the festive picture complete.

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, December 21st, 2014