Recently, an interesting subject came up here in the Epi offices: What constitutes a "Christmas Eve" versus a "Christmas Day" menu? We have separate tags for each in our database, and I had always viewed the delineation thus: the Christmas Day meal is the main holiday feast, and Christmas Eve meal is reserved for special cultural traditions such as the Italian Feast of the Seven Fishes or a Latin American pig roast.
But it turns out I was being culturally closed-minded: Several of my colleagues with family of backgrounds different from mine told me that they typically eat the standard American feast—a roast, a baked ham, etc.—but on Christmas Eve. Christmas Day is reserved for a casual brunch, opening presents, and then just relaxing.
This got me thinking about a couple of things:
1) First, this approach actually seems a lot more practical. In my family, on Christmas Eve we decorate the tree and have a simple winter meal. Then, on Christmas morning, we graze on a breakfast buffet and open presents. By midday, it's time to start preparing Christmas dinner, except that nobody feels much like cooking, and after all that grazing (and snacking on edible gifts as well), we're not too hungry either. So we procrastinate. Eventually, around seven, we finally sit down to eat an elaborate meal that stretches late into the night. Still a lot of fun, but it has often seemed to me like we're trying to pack too much eating into one day. Having the big feast the night before eliminates this problem, and lets the cooks laze around on Christmas Day, which seems more fitting for a holiday.
2) Second, I wondered whether historical norms were changing. My family's traditions go back to Colonial and English roots, so it makes sense that we still follow the British tradition of the Christmas Day feast. But with so many Americans tracing their ancestry to countries other than Britain, I'm curious as to where the majority falls these days.
So, help us find out: Vote in our poll below, and if you like, add a comment on this post telling us what your background is, what dishes or culinary traditions your family typically includes in its celebration, or anything else you want to share. We'd love to know more about how our readers celebrate so we can make our holiday coverage a true reflection of you.
This article was originally published in 2008. The results of the poll are below.
