Latkes, a potato cake fried until its golden and crispy, is a traditional food served during the Jewish celebration of Hanukkah. As Hanukkah celebrates the miracle of one night’s worth of oil lasting for eight nights, many of the foods eaten during Hanukkah are fried. In addition to latkes – sometimes served with applesauce or another sweet topping – sufganiyot (fried jelly doughnuts) and brisket are often served as well. 

Some version of latkes goes back to at least the Middle Ages. They were likely made of cheese (probably either ricotta or curd cheese), fried in poppyseed oil or butter, and served with fruit preserves. These cheese latkes were the most common kind of latke in Ashkenazi communities until the 19th century when the potato arrived in eastern Europe. At the time, the cheapest and most readily available cooking fat was schmaltz, rendered poultry fat (usually from a goose or chicken), and due to Jewish dietary laws, which prohibit the mixing of meat and dairy products, alternatives to the cheese latke were introduced.

These included buckwheat, rye flour, or other tubers endemic to the region, such as turnips. As the potato became popular in eastern Europe, it was quickly adopted to the point that today, latke is almost synonymous with potatoes.

The latke is traditionally prepared during the Hanukkah holiday to commemorate the miracle of the oil in the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem lasting eight days.

Christmas throughout Sicily and Southern Italy means the Feast of the Seven Fishes. Traditionally, Roman Catholics fast on Christmas Eve, so a feast of seven or more seafood dishes at the end is a celebration of the area’s plentiful seafood bounty. 

The meal includes seven or more fishes that are considered traditional. "Seven fishes" as a fixed concept or name is unknown in Italy. In some Italian-American families, there is no count of the number of fish dishes. 

A well-known dish is baccalà (salted cod fish). The custom of celebrating with a simple fish such as baccalà reflects customs in what were historically impoverished regions of Southern Italy, as well as seasonal factors. Fried smelts, calamari and other types of seafood have been incorporated into the Christmas Eve dinner over the years. 

Christmas is a major affair in Greece. Many Greeks fast before the holidays and when Christmas Day arrives, they go all out. One traditional dish served is melomakarona, a sweet, honey-soaked cookie topped with ground walnuts. It is eaten on Christmas Day, once fast is broken. 

Historically, melomakarona are thought to be derived from the ancient and medieval makaria, which were eaten during funerals. Gradual changes in the recipe and the addition of dipping them in honey led to melomakarona which etymologically is derived from the Greek word for honey "meli" and "makaria".

Typical ingredients of the melomakarono are flour or semolina, sugar, orange zest and/or fresh juice, cognac (or similar beverage), cinnamon, crushed or ground clove and olive oil. During rolling they are often filled with ground walnuts. Immediately after baking, they are immersed for a few seconds in cold syrup made of honey and sugar dissolved in water. Finally, they are decorated with ground, as well as bigger pieces of walnut. Dark chocolate-covered melomakarona are also a more recent variation of the traditional recipe.

Sweden and other Scandinavian countries celebrate St. Lucia’s Day on December 13. According to tradition, the oldest daughter dresses in a white gown with a red sash and a crown of lit candles, then wakes her parents with coffee and saffron buns. 

In Sweden and Norway, no cinnamon or nutmeg is used in the bun, and raisins are used instead of currants. The buns are baked into many traditional shapes, of which the simplest is a reversed S-shape. 

They have traditional religious symbolism and are eaten during Advent. In addition to Sweden, they are also prepared and eaten in much the same way in Finland, particularly in Swedish-speaking areas, and by Swedish-speaking Finns, as well as in Norway and less commonly in Denmark.

Christmas pudding – plum pudding – is one of the most popular traditional holiday dishes in the United Kingdom. Families have their own recipes for it, but they are typically made with dried fruit and spices, held together with eggs and suet. Some families bake a coin into their pudding and whoever finds it will have good luck in the new year. 

Christmas pudding is sweet, dried-fruit pudding traditionally served as part of Christmas dinner in Britain and other countries to which the tradition has been exported. It has its origins in medieval England, with early recipes making use of dried fruit, suet, breadcrumbs, flour, eggs and spice, along with liquid such as milk or fortified wine. Later, recipes became more elaborate. In 1845, cookery writer Eliza Acton wrote the first recipe for a dish actually called "Christmas pudding".

The dish is sometimes known as plum pudding (though this can also refer to other kinds of boiled pudding involving dried fruit). The word "plum" was used then for what has been called a "raisin" since the 18th century, and the pudding does not in fact contain plums in the modern sense of the word.

In Japan, the Christmas Eve dinner of choice is KFC – the American chicken chain restaurant. The tradition began in the 1970s with an ad campaign and grew in popularity from there. The Japanese now order their “Christmas Chicken” weeks in advance, and can also grab cake and champagne when they pick up their orders. 

KFC Japan was originally formed as a joint venture between the American parent and the Japanese Mitsubishi Corporation. Following four years of negotiations, Mitsubishi was awarded the franchise rights to KFC in Japan, and a test store was opened at the Osaka World Expo in March 1970.

After the debut proved successful, the first proper store was opened in the suburban location of Nagoya in November 1970. The American parent wanted suburban locations, whereas Mitsubishi argued for city center locations, as cars had not been widely adopted in Japan at that time. Two more locations were opened in Osaka, but the stores struggled, and after less than a year of operation, had lost JP¥ 100 million. As a result of this failure, Mitsubishi's original plan for urban locations was pursued.