Christmas Foods from Around the World by Daniel Neman, St

Christmas foods from around the world By Daniel Neman, St. Louis Post-Dispatch on 11.27.18 Word Count 923 Level MAX

Dresden stollen is a fruit bread of nuts, spices and dried or candied fruit, coated with powdered sugar or icing sugar. It is a traditional German bread eaten during the Christmas season, when it is called Weihnachtsstollen or Christstollen. Photo by: Laurie Skrivan/St. Louis Post-Dispatch/TNS

Apparently, this is true: In Japan, Christmas is celebrated with a bucket of fried chicken from KFC.

Only about 1 percent of the Japanese population is Christian, but the holiday there is widely celebrated. Stripped of its religious and historic significance, it is observed for its own sake, like Mardi Gras or Cinco de Mayo in the United States.

It all began in 1974, when the chain then known as Kentucky Fried Chicken launched a massively successful advertising campaign in Japan that equated chicken with Christmas. It worked beyond any advertising person's wildest dreams.

KFC chicken is now so popular for the secular Japanese tradition of Christmas that some people order it weeks in advance, while others stand in lines for as long as two hours to pick it up.

Christmas is celebrated in many ways around the world, with each culture adding its own particular spin on the holiday. I decided to look at some of the most popular international Christmas traditions — the ones not specifically involving fried chicken.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. Across much of Europe, the Christmas meal means roast goose. The other popular dinner is turkey, but I figure we just did that for Thanksgiving. In France, incidentally, they eat a lot of oysters for the holidays. It's a lovely idea, but goose just seems more Christmassy.

Unfortunately, there is a problem with goose: It can be expensive (or at least mine was). On the other hand, I typically cook a standing rib roast for Christmas Eve, and those cost a lot more than a goose, per pound. The difference is that you get more meat on the standing rib roast.

At any rate, I turned to the British chef Gordon Ramsay for guidance on how to roast a goose. It turns out that he does not curse nearly as much in writing as he does on television. Though goose is a thoroughly British dish (think of the feast at the end of "A Christmas Carol"), Ramsay gives it an Asian twist with a rub made from five-spice powder along with the zest of lemons and limes.

It was fabulous. The meat was chewier than I thought it would be — it was a free-range goose, which may make a difference — but the flavor was also much heartier. Though it is technically a white meat, goose meat is dark in color and has the intense flavor of red meat.

I next turned my attention to Sweden, which makes the most wonderful saffron buns for the Christmas season. Actually, they are traditionally made for St. Lucia's Day, which is December 13, but they are so beautiful and impressive that they should be baked throughout the holidays.

Lucia Buns — Lussekatter — are yeast rolls that are light and airy, infused with the perfume of saffron. The saffron also turns them a gorgeous shade of yellow, which only increases their attractiveness when they are formed into an extra-fancy S shape. A raisin, preferably golden, goes into the center of each curlicue.

They taste heavenly and are versatile enough to be served as a breakfast roll or with dinner. They are not sweet, but they have the texture of a sweet bread — which makes them perfect for a smear of melting butter. Some Swedes sprinkle a little sugar on top before baking them. I tried that, and it made them even better.

For a Christmas side dish, I happened to come across a recipe for Russian potato salad, olivye, that I couldn't wait to try.

You cut cooked potatoes into a small dice, along with carrots, pickles (I used Russian half-sour pickles, but dill would be fine), eggs, cucumber and peas, all mixed together with mayonnaise and dill to taste.

Olivye has one more ingredient, diced pieces of doktorskaya kolbasa, which is said to be like bologna. In fact, it was actually created (in 1936) to be a leaner, Russian version of American bologna. I couldn't find any doktorskaya kolbasa, so I just used bologna.

I know what you're thinking: "Bologna in a potato salad? Ick." Everyone says that. At least a dozen of my colleagues said it just before trying it, and without exception, they all ended up raving about it.

It's more than just potato salad. It's a salad good enough for Russians to serve at every holiday, including Christmas (but especially New Year's Eve).

One dessert tradition that spans much of the Northern Hemisphere is a sweetened bread filled with dried and candied fruit. Our fruitcake, is Italy's panettone, is Germany's stollen.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. I decided to make stollen, which is probably the best-known version, internationally. Stollen is not as dense as fruitcake, and not as airy as panettone. It's a happy medium, plus it has lots of powdered sugar — and powdered sugar makes everything better.

It takes a fair amount of work to make stollen, so I made a double recipe. Not only does it keep for a few weeks, which makes it an excellent gift, it is also said to taste even better when it has had a couple of weeks to mature.

I wouldn't know. The two I made disappeared in a day. Admittedly, I ate much of them myself, but it was hard not to. They are just that good: A texture that is simultaneously dense and light, stuffed with candied orange peel, raisins and chopped almonds, all coated in (of course) powdered sugar.

It's a great holiday tradition. If it's too much effort to make, you could always just pick up a bucket of fried chicken.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. Quiz

1 Which two of the following sentences from the article include CENTRAL ideas of the article?

1. Only about 1 percent of the Japanese population is Christian, but the holiday there is widely celebrated. 2. Christmas is celebrated in many ways around the world, with each culture adding its own particular spin on the holiday. 3. I decided to look at some of the most popular international Christmas traditions — the ones not specifically involving fried chicken. 4. If it's too much effort to make, you could always just pick up a bucket of fried chicken.

(A) 1 and 3

(B) 1 and 4

(D) 2 and 4

2 Which of the following summaries of this article is both accurate and objective?

(A) Countries around the world have their own holiday food traditions for Christmas. Each dish has its own story and has meaning for the country that created it.

(B) Most countries have some form of holiday tradition for Christmas. Many of those traditions involve food. Many countries serve similar holiday dishes.

(C) Countries around the world have unique holiday food traditions for Christmas. These traditions are interesting because food tells so much about a culture.

(D) Most countries use food to help celebrate Christmas. Most countries choose to use turkey, goose or oysters as the main dish. Most countries also serve fruitcake.

3 What is one reason why the author includes the information about Japan's Christmas tradition of KFC?

(A) to explain why KFC became a popular Christmas meal around the world

(B) to provide an example of how holidays are celebrated in one country

(D) to suggest that it is better to buy a Christmas meal than to cook one at home

4 How is the article organized to help develop understanding?

(A) The author organizes geographically to rank Christmas food from the best to the worst.

(B) The author organizes by dish to explain how a traditional Christmas meal looks the same in each country.

(D) The author organizes by country to offer examples of several holiday traditions around the world.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.