Latino Christmas dishes and traditions are as diverse as their origins. Some similarities and many differences.

Work, Life & Culture is a blend of tradition and success. Being Latin, Hispanic or Latino means a diverse set customs, food dishes, dialects and holidays. As an example, let’s look at one holiday, Christmas yielding a wide range of traditional foods or dishing.

Here are 12 geographies- 12 days of Christmas:  

Argentina

• Vitel toné
• Turrón
• Pan dulce
• Asado (beef, chicken, calf, lamb, suckling pig)
• Cider (apple, pineapple) and Venezuela
• Hallaca – rectangle-shaped meal made of maize, filled with beef, pork, olives, raisins and caper, and wrapped in plantain leaves
• Pan de jamón – ham-filled bread with olives and raisins
• Dulce de lechosa – dessert made of cooked sliced unripe papaya in sugar syrup
• Ensalada de gallina – salad made of potato, carrot, apple and shredded chicken
• Pernil- roast pork shoulder
• Budín
• Salads
• Pionono
• Russian salad
• Matambre
• Lengua a la vinagreta
• Garrapiñadas
• Waldorf salad

Brazil

• Lombo à Califórnia – pork loins
• Rabanada – French toast
• Pernil – roast pork
• Perú – roast turkey
• Bacalhau – codfish
• Farofa – raw manioc flour roasted with butter, salt, bacon or smoked meat, and spices, with a smoky and slightly salty taste
• Brazil nut
• Panettone

Chile

• Pan de pascua
• Cola de mono – (Literally, “Monkey’s Tail) A Chilean Christmas beverage, with aguardiente, milk, coffee, and flavoured with vanilla and cloves[16]
• Pan de Pascua – Chilean Christmas sponge cake flavoured with cloves and with bits of candied fruits, raisins, walnuts and almonds.[17]
• Roasted turkey
• Ponche a la romana – Eggnog-style beverage made of champagne and pineapple-flavoured icecream.

Colombia

• Colombian Buñuelos
• Colombian natilla
• Colombian Christmas dishes are mostly sweets and desserts. Some of the most popular dishes include:
• Buñuelos
• Natilla
• Manjar blanco
• Hojaldres
• Brevas dessert with cheese
• Christmas cookies
• Sweet bread filled with fruits like raisins and raspberries.

Cuba

• Crema De Vie – Cuban eggnog, made with condensed milk, rum, sugar syrup, lemon rind, cinnamon, and egg yolk.
• Majarete – corn pudding made with coconut milk, fresh corn, cornstarch, milk, water, vanilla, cinnamon and sugar
• Platillo Moros y Cristianos
• Lechon asado
• Turrón

Dominican Republic

• Moro de guandules con coco – rice with pigeon peas and coconut milk
• Vaniljekranse – Danish butter cookies
• ponche – eggnog
• Ensalada verde – Iceberg letters, onions, cucumber and tomatoes salad.
• Bread pudding
• Majarete – corn pudding made with coconut milk, fresh corn, cornstarch, milk, water, vanilla, cinnamon and sugar
• Russian potato salad
• Macaroni salad
• Pasteles de hojas – Root tamales
• Jengibre – ginger tea
• Pig roast
• Pollo al Horno – Roasted Chicken
• Telera – Dominican bread similar to Mexican Telera
• Fruit platter – Consists of oranges, apples, bananas, grapes, and mangos
• Cheese and guava platter – a platter with squared white cheese, yellow potato cheese, soda crackers, and guava paste chunks

Guatemala

• Tamales
• Ponche (Christmas fruit punch served hot with lots of fruits)
• pavo (Turkey)
• Buñuelos (Fluffy sweet dessert made with corn with maple syrup)
• Chicken (Prepared with different stuffings and accompanied with various side dishes such as salads or rice)
• Next page Mexico-Panama-Puerto Rico-Spain and Venezuela

Mexico

• Christmas roast
• pavo – Stuffed, roasted Turkey served with gravy.
• Ensalada de Noche Buena – Christmas Eve Salad
• Russian potato salad – Side dish to turkey, particularly popular in northern states.
• Bacalao – clipfish or cod, traditionally eaten in the central and southern states of Mexico.
• Romeritos – also a Christmas tradition of the central region, romeritos are small green leaves of a particular type mixed generally with mole and potatoes; generally accompanied with “tortitas de camarón” (shrimp bread)
• Tamales – Tamales can sometimes replace the traditional Turkey or Bacalao with romeritos, particularly in northern and southern parts of Mexico.
• Menudo – A Christmas morning tradition in northwestern states, menudo is a tripe and hominy soup, not to be confused with southern ‘panzita’. Menudo is often prepared the night before (Christmas Eve) as its cooking time can take up to 5 hours.
• Ponche – a hot, sweet drink made with apples, sugar cane, prunes and tejocotes. For grown-ups, ponche is never complete without its “piquete” – either tequila or rum
• Marshmallow fruit salad – marshmallow with fruit cocktail, sugar and sour cream. Sometimes dried coconut, ground cinnamon and/or nuts are also added.
• Pineapple Upside-down cake – Turned-over cake with cherries and pineapples.
• Glazed ham – Ham glazed with honey or sugar with cherries and pineapples on top.

Panama

• Arroz con Pollo
• Tamales
• Ham
• Turkey
• Grapes
• Fruit cake
• Egg nog
• Potato salad
• Pan de Rosca

Puerto Rico

• Arroz con gandules – yellow-rice and pigeon peas with olives, capers, and pieces of ham.
• Ensalada de pulpo – octopus salad
• Escabeche – boiled green bananas and chicken gizzards in Puerto Rican style escabeche.
• Macaroni salad – with tuna and peppers
• Morcilla
• Pasteles
• Pasteles de guineo
• Pasteles de yucca
• Pastelón – sweet plantain “lasagna” smiler to pionono.
• Pig roast
• Potato salad – made with chorizo and hard-boiled eggs.

Spain

• Jamón (Spanish Dry-Cured Ham)
• Roasted turkey
• Roasted lamb
• Seafood
• Langostinos – (king prawn)
• Shrimp
• Lobster
• Crab
• Dorado
• Sweets
• Turrón
• Yema – egg-based dessert
• Mantecados & polvorones – crumbly cakes
• Marzipan, almond cakes
• King cake known as roscón de Reyes in Spanish and tortell in Catalan.

Venezuela

• Hallaca
• Hallaca – rectangle-shaped meal made of maize, filled with beef, pork, olives, raisins and caper, and wrapped in plantain leaves
• Pan de jamón – ham-filled bread with olives and raisins
• Dulce de lechosa – dessert made of cooked sliced unripe papaya in sugar syrup
• Ensalada de gallina – salad made of potato, carrot, apple and shredded chicken
• Pernil- roast pork shoulder

See more Latin, Hispanic and Latino Christmas dishes around the world at Wikipedia

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