When the weather gets cold and the nights get long and bleak, it's only natural to start thinking of having a feast. Food can be used to feast with family and friends, set the mood on Christmas Eve or ring in the new year.
That's why, in many countries-including some who don't technically celebrate Christmas-you will find seasonal fare being cooked up around this time of year.
So whether you're traveling abroad for Christmas this year, or just looking to pick up some foreign delicacies from your local deli, be sure to keep your eyes peeled for these international festive favorites:
Cougnou, Belgium
Cougnou loosely translates as the "bread of Jesus" and is baked during the Christmas season in southern Belgium.
It is a sweet, yeasted bread that is shaped into the form of a baby (or just has a small plastic baby pushed into the top of the dough, a la New Orleans' king cake). It is usually sold from early November onwards and typically enjoyed with a cup of hot chocolate.
Bibingka, Philippines
If you like to eat dessert foods for breakfast, then bibingka is the dish for you. It's a sweet rice cake made with coconut milk (and sometimes eggs) that is cooked in a clay pot lined with banana leaves. The resulting cake is then eaten for breakfast over the Christmas period, often topped with butter, sugar and toasted coconut.
Fried Carp, Czech Republic & Poland
Families across Central Europe catch carp each year and then keep them in their bathtub (hence why the dish also has the name of "Bathtub Carp"). If you can manage not to befriend the fish and keep it as a pet, then you serve it breaded and fried with several other main dishes on the night before Christmas.
Menudo, Mexico
Menudo is a traditional soup that can be served at any type of special occasion (births, marriages, celebrations) but is usually reserved for the main Christmas meal.
It is very labor intensive to prepare, as the main ingredient is tripe-which needs to be boiled in broth for several hours before serving. In fact, many Mexicans start making it on Christmas Eve to ensure it's ready to eat the next day. Other ingredients may include hominy, red chili peppers, onions and cilantro.
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