Three cuisines of the world: Christmas dishes

With the onset of December, the whole world is sweetly anticipating Christmas and New Year holidays, and also begins diligent preparations to meet them with dignity. Oh, how much effort we are willing to put into the festive table! Each country has unique gastronomic and kitchen traditions, but one can definitely state that the tradition of serving special dishes exists in all countries without exception.

In the Czech Republic

Czechs love to celebrate Christmas and call it the Day of St. Mikulas (or Nicholas), and the capital Prague is amazingly prettier and blooms with millions of garlands, not without reason among tourists so popular New Year tours to this country. And the most popular purchase here on Christmas Eve was carp. And he must be alive! According to tradition, the Christmas table in the Czech Republic should be meat-free, and carp should be a mandatory dish on the table. For Czechs, carp is a fantastic fish that can attract good luck. By the way, the scales of the Christmas carp put in the purse can bring financial prosperity to the house for the whole year.

A week before the holiday, everywhere on the streets you can find large containers with water, in which fattened carp swim especially all year in special ponds. And with the approach of Christmas, they go on a trip around the country to meet the festive table of giant water tanks. The fish is bought the day before, certainly alive and before it is baked with spices and fruits, be sure to release into the bathroom so that it swims plenty. But the most compassionate Czechs release the carp into the river, giving him life and freedom.

On the morning of December 25, families with carps gather at the embankments of the rivers. But on the eve of the carp is also allowed into the bath, fed with sugar cookies, given them gentle nicknames, put in a basin on the table, and the next day the Czechs, filled with generosity, solemnly release him to the wild. It is good that the carp has a memory like a fish, otherwise such cordiality and hospitality the delicate mental organization of the carp would clearly not stand.

All gifts to Czech children bring not Santa Claus, and Jerzyszek. There is one rather offensive New Year tradition, when good children are given fruits and sweets, and those whose reputation is not so perfect – coal and potatoes.

In France.

The first thing that catches the eye in the Christmas French town is the unpopularity of the decorated Christmas tree as the main symbol of the holiday. The French prefer a laconic decoration in the form of a wreath of mistletoe.

What do you eat in a country like France? There is no way to answer this question, since each region in France has its own traditional Christmas dishes, but the love of Christmas goose unites the whole country. The authority of geese on Christmas in France is so high that once a special breed of geese - Toulouse - weighing up to 12 kg was bred for this holiday! Since then, a huge number of goose carcasses are exported around the world before Christmas, and the Christmas goose has become an almost international attribute of the holiday.

The goose is the most important bird in French cuisine, because its liver is made of foie gras. Only specially fattened "happy" can be used to prepare this cult dish. And on the occasion of such a great holiday, many French housewives prefer to do their own cooking foie gras.

The French pay special attention to desserts, usually several types are prepared for Christmas. In Provence, for example, as many as 13 different kinds of sweets on the table are considered traditional! (in honor of Christ and the 12 apostles.) As well as in our country, the New Year holidays here are associated with tangerines, of which charlotte, ice cream, salads, etc. are prepared. And the national Christmas cake in France is recognized as "Poleno" (Buche de Noel.) This simple dessert is a roll, rolled up from thin biscuit and filling, poured with chocolate on top.

There is such a fun festive tradition as eating bean pie, but the pie is not so called because of the expected filling of beans. In it, one single bobovin, who gets it, is declared the bean king, and the rest of the participants of the feast will have to fulfill his wishes.

In Armenia

And the highlight of the program on the Armenian Christmas table was a lean pilaf with raisins, dried apricots and prunes, where rice represents the people, and dried fruits represent the elect whom the Lord chose to continue his work. Armenia is a country so rich in traditions that it is difficult to find a table with the same set of traditional dishes. But in ancient times there was one thread on which all the pearls were strung. This thread was the seasoning of Nantsahik. This appetizing flower grew on the slopes of Ararat and was collected and dried by Armenians living in nearby areas to the mountain, and then distributed throughout Armenia. No matter where the Armenian lived, he always had a Ngatsakhik on New Year’s Day. This tradition was a symbol of national unity, the flower connected all Armenians with Ararat, the heart of the homeland.

The list of New Year’s dishes according to ancient tradition included products whose names began with the letter “n”: starting with nantsakhik, then nur (garnet), nush (almonds), etc. The Armenians attached special importance to the number seven, so the number of sweet and basic dishes was reduced to seven. Every aspect of the life of the Armenian people is shrouded in so many beautiful and symbolic traditions, it is a pity that many of them have become forgotten.

But still on modern tables there is a special ritual bread - tari hatz, in which a talisman is necessarily put: a coin, a button and a bean. Bread is divided by the number of family members or the number of months in a year. The one who got a piece with a talisman is declared lucky and it is believed that fortune will favor him throughout the year.

In general, before the Armenian festive table was much more lean and committed to the ancient, centuries-old traditions than today. In recent years, a welcome guest on the New Year's table was a pig ham, masterfully seasoned with a variety of spices and does not need introduction, dolma (or tolma), which used to be prepared exclusively for Christmas and served in cold form. The red thread connecting Armenian feast traditions from the depths of centuries and modernity was, is and will be red wine.

Text by Diana Yusupova

Photo: 078.com.ua, mobilmusic.ru, pragagid.ru, 4tololo.ru, janarmenian.ru