Christmas Edition: Why Do We Eat Turkeys on Christmas?

Rosemary Turkey by Mirana Cake House

As you plan and prepare for your Christmas party (it’s already December?!), scrolling through FoodLine’s Christmas buffet menus, have you ever wondered why do we eat turkeys on Christmas? Why not fish, or just regular chicken? Why this big bird? Well, today I have the answer for you and we’re going to dive into the history of the country that made all of these happen- Britain.

More than 500 years ago turkey was introduced to Britain by Yorkshireman William Strickland, who went on his travels and received six of these birds from American Indian traders. In the 16^th century, Henry VIII was the first English king to enjoy having turkey, but it was Edward VII who made eating them on Christmas popular.

Before this, people ate geese, boars’ head, roasted beef, and even peacock on Christmas day. The poor could not afford these and would usually make do with rabbits. This was because before refrigerators became common in the 1930s, the turkey was considered as luxurious meat. An average person had to work for a week to be able to buy a turkey. In present time, an average person would have to work for only 1.7 hours to be able to afford one.

However, did you know that turkey isn’t traditional meat for Christmas in a lot of other countries? In Portugal, codfish is a staple for Christmas as fish is culturally important to Portuguese cooking.  Wild boar or venison is consumed by the Germans and in Sweden, caviar, shellfish, and fish are common.

Strangely, in Japan, one cannot go through Christmas without having KFC’s fried chicken for dinner with their family. Before 1974, there was no tradition for Christmas in Japan as Christmas was celebrated as a joyous occasion rather than a religious holiday then. However, after overhearing a couple of foreigners saying they missed having turkeys for Christmas, Takeshi Okawara, manager of the first KFC outlet in the country, came up with a campaign to market fried chicken as a way to celebrate Christmas in Japan. As expected, it took off and has been a tradition in Japan ever since.

Rosemary Turkey by Mirana Cake House

On a local note, as we were partly influenced by the British culture, I’d assume that having turkey for Christmas was one of the traditions that stuck on us, not that I’m complaining though! If you love having turkeys for Christmas as much as I do, did you know that there are various caterers on FoodLine that offer turkeys as a Christmas menu? Psst, look out for Christmas menu promotions as well! Check out our Christmas turkey and platters here: https://www.foodline.sg/xmas-turkey-n-platters/