The meal most associated with the festive period today is a Christmas turkey dinner with all the trimmings. According to a survey of more than 1,700 Brits, 54% of us dined on turkey on Christmas Day 2022, making it the UK’s top choice.
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Prior to this relatively modern tradition, there were many different menus.
History of Christmas dinners
Many cultures have had a winter feast celebration, even before the birth of Christianity.
For example, beginning in 625 BC, the Ancient Romans’ annual festival of Saturnalia to honour the god Saturn would begin on 17th December and last for seven days.
People enjoyed parties and eating, with the main celebration being the household feast, when wealthy families invited their servants to share a menu that often included venison, wild boar, pheasant, peacock, songbirds, lobster, oysters and various shellfish.
The tradition of eating a Christmas dinner to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ has evolved over many centuries.
No one era defined what we should eat on Christmas Day and the menu gradually changed over time.
The first monastery in Britain (St Augustine's Abbey) was founded in 598 by the Christian monk Augustine at Canterbury.
The festive season meant a complete change of diet for the monks, who usually ate simple foods, such as vegetable soup and crusty bread. It included various types of fish flavoured with herbs and cooked in wine, while offal or mince meat pies were served smothered in thick gravy.
Medieval meat feasts
Christmas dinner UK-wide in the 14th century included joints of meat such as pork, beef and venison - but only for the rich!
The wealthy in the early 15th century enjoyed an extravagant feast including roasted peacocks, boars’ heads stuffed with bacon and huge quantities of meat pies.
The working classes eat plenty of bread, with small portions of fish, meat or thick vegetable stew (known as pottage) on a chunky slice of bread or stuffed inside a hollow “trencher” loaf.
At the end of the 15th century, the legendary Tudor Christmas banquets included joints of beef, venison and wild boar, plus animals that we would find unpalatable today, such as badgers.
Mince pies originated in Medieval times, but contained actual minced meat mixed with fruit, spices and sugar. Expensive to make, they were served only at celebrations.
First turkey dinners
Turkeys were first eaten in England in the early 16th century although only by the wealthy, who considered them an exotic delicacy.
King Henry VIII was reportedly the first British monarch to eat a Christmas turkey dinner. It took 400 years to evolve from a luxury fowl for the wealthy into the most popular festive feast for all in the UK.
The Christmas Pie was also popular, as it was made from a turkey stuffed with a goose, chicken, partridge and pigeon, all served in a pastry case with hare and game birds as side dishes.
Christmas menu traditions didn’t change much over the next few centuries. The Victorians still had plenty of roast meat for dinner, including turkey and beef.
By this time, mince pies had evolved into the type we know today, which don’t contain meat at all.
Christmas desserts
Christmas pudding was simply plum pudding in Medieval times. Boiled in a pot, it was a delicacy of the rich, as the masses couldn’t afford expensive imported dried fruit.
Early recipes consisted mainly of suet, currants and raisins. They were made well in advance and stored in the cupboard for months.
Setting the pudding alight with brandy was common by the mid-19th century. Plum pudding became known as Christmas pudding as late as the mid-20th century.
Cheese is also a popular after dinner Christmas delicacy today. This first became a tradition in the 17th century.
Records show that in 1692, when the Royal Hospital in London opened, local cheese makers first started donating a festive supply of cheese to the Chelsea Pensioners.
The tradition of cheese and savoury biscuits following Christmas dinner continues today.
Makers of speciality cheeses say most of their sales occur just before Christmas - with Stilton revealing the festive period accounts for 70% of its annual sales.
Today’s traditional Christmas dinner
If you’re wondering what to have for Christmas dinner, turkey remains the favourite fowl, while other non-meat food items are also established as festive favourites.
According to You Gov research, a massive 88% of Brits enjoy roast potatoes as part of a traditional Christmas dinner, making them the most common element of our festive fare.
The second most popular accompaniment is gravy, enjoyed by 80% of diners, while 71% of us eat stuffing and carrots. The much-maligned Brussels sprout is still served on 66% of UK Christmas dinners.
Other popular accompaniments are pigs in blankets, broccoli and cranberry sauce, which are eaten by 65%, 44% and 41% of diners respectively.
Chicken is the second most popular fowl after turkeys, although only 10% of households eat it on Christmas day.
People who don’t eat meat are still in a minority, with 3% of Brits saying they will be having a vegetarian Christmas dinner and 1% saying it will be vegan.
However, 20% of meat eaters say they’ll be willing to try a vegetarian option if it’s offered to them.
How to cook a Christmas dinner
If you have to prepare Christmas dinner for family and friends, plan it carefully in advance to avoid disappointment, as it’s a very important occasion.
Planning means considering how many people you’re cooking for, how many pots, pans and baking trays you’ll need and of course the menu.
Pre-cook as much as you can to get ahead, as the feast will be easier to prepare if you break it down into smaller jobs over a period of several days.
Make sure you have sufficient airtight food storage containers!
If you have guests with special dietary requirements, prepare a complete meal in advance and freeze it until required.
If you’ve prepared too much festive food, never let it go to waste, as there are plenty of recipes online to recycle the remains. Don’t leave the leftovers out at room temperature for too long, as harmful bacteria can soon multiply in a hot room. Pop it in the fridge or freezer!