LONDON – For as long as I can remember, turkey has been the heart of my family’s festive dinner.
From roast turkey paired with warm potatoes and stuffing to succulent pieces tucked into my beloved jollof rice, it’s a constant in our Christmas celebrations.
This time of year gives me an excuse to indulge in all the Nigerian delicacies I usually hold back on—especially jollof rice, a delicious staple dish of rice simmered in stew, often accompanied by sweet, fried plantains that are just irresistible.
I can’t help but reminisce about those traditional Christmas dinners from my primary school days, where the soft pastry of a Yorkshire pudding soaked in warm gravy filled my heart with nostalgia. And I’ll never resist anything with cranberry sauce – it’s my absolute obsession! Whether it’s dolloped on turkey or enjoyed alongside other festive treats, it makes a perfect topping.
This Christmas, I already know that a warm plate of jollof will be waiting for me, brimming with flavor and tradition. I’ll also be savoring Baileys, the creamy Irish beverage I’ve been eagerly anticipating — best enjoyed over ice.
For a lighter choice, Schloer will be making an appearance, its fizzy grape flavors adding a refreshing touch to my meal.
And of course I must include dessert ! The classic trifle, layered with custard, whipped cream, and berry jam, is my go-to indulgence.
Last but never least, Christmas wouldn’t be complete without pigs in blankets – those adorable sausages wrapped in bacon, which have become a staple in every British supermarket. With all these delights, I can’t help but feel that festive cheer is here!
– Anjola Fashawe
Flæskesteg sandwiches in Denmark
Copenhagen, DENMARK – My most favorite dish at Christmas is one that is served all year round but is very Christmas-y.
That is Flæskesteg sandwich. It is a pork roast with rind cut into slices and then put in burger buns with pickles, pickled red cabbage and Dijon mayonnaise.
The reason this is really Christmas-y for me is that at many of the local Christmas markets they will be selling these delightful sandwiches.
In Freetown Christinia’s Christmas Market they sell Flæskesteg sandwiches as well as the small charity market where I volunteer.
For me, this sandwich is a reminder of Christmas.
– Noah Haynes
Dresden Christstollen
Dresden, GERMANY – If you want to depict a baby wrapped in nappies, what could be more obvious than baking a cake from the mold?
At least that’s probably what Stollen, a fruit bread, was supposed to represent during Advent in the 15th century – and what its bakers probably thought.
At that time, stollen consisted only of flour, water and yeast and could probably have existed in any city – had it not been for a butter letter from Pope Innocent VIII to Dresden bakers.
In the letter, the pope authorized the use of butter and fruit during Lent – which had previously been forbidden. This was the starting signal for the now famous, EU-protected geographical term for the Dresden Christstollen, a sweet yeast bread with sultanas, or golden raisins, dusted with icing sugar.
In my city of Dresden, it wouldn’t be Christmas without stollen.
During the Christmas season, everything in Dresden revolves around stollen. Our signature bread is an essential part of the coffee table in Germany and the Dresden Stollen Festival takes place in the city every year.
This is because the Saxon Elector and Polish King Augustus the Strong promoted stollen in Dresden through monopoly regulations and organized a stollen feast in 1730 with a giant stollen weighing 1,800 kg, or about 3,968 pounds – nearly two tons.
This baroque stollen feast is regarded as the model for the annual Dresden Stollen Festival at the Dresden Striezelmarkt, where the giant stollen is cut and the Stollen Girl presents the Dresden Christmas Stollen.
As a protected term, the Dresden Christmas Stollen is also subject to certain conditions in order to be labeled as such.
There is the Stollen Protection Association with its golden Stollen seal, which carries out regular Stollen tests to check the quality and ingredients.
Only certain ingredients may be used in the real stollen: sultanas, butter, sweet and bitter almonds, candied orange peel, candied lemon peel, flour, milk and yeast, granulated sugar, clarified butter, lemon peel paste, table salt, icing sugar and stollen spice.
In addition, Dresden Christmas Stollen is a geographically protected term under EU law, which means that Dresden Christmas Stollen must be produced in Dresden to be allowed to be called that. The principle is comparable to Champagne from the Champagne region in France or Silesian apple pie from the border area of Poland, Germany and Czechia.
And so it is that the Dresden Christmas Stollen is not only eaten as a Christmas cake in most German households during Advent and Christmas, but also combines a centuries-old baking tradition and cultural history.
– Lina Marie Schulenkorf
Anjola Fashawe is a Correspondent with Youth Journalism International from London.
Noah Haynes is a Senior Reporter with Youth Journalism International from Copenhagen, Denmark.
Lina Marie Schulenkorf is a Senior Reporter with Youth Journalism International from Dresden, Germany.
