Turkey, pigs in blankets, sprouts, parsnips, and pudding: how did Christmas dinner start?
The Christmas dinner we know today is strongly connected to the Victorian era. After Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol became such a success, Christmas became more important in society. The book’s themes of charity, kindness and Christmas magic revived Christmas to make it the season we know now. Most bosses did not give their employees the day off on Christmas, which is almost unimaginable for most industries now.
The midwinter solstice and the pagan celebration Yule had people gathering in the dark nights to feast on winter vegetables, pork, beef, and berries.
When the Romans invaded the British Isles they brought their own winter feast traditions. The Roman festival Saturnalia honours the god of agriculture, wealth and time: Saturn. Celebrations would last for up to seven days beginning on the 17th of December. During this time, slaves were allowed to eat with their masters and would sometimes be served by them.
As time passed, people celebrated Christmas with their families and loved ones instead of hosting grand parties. Christmas dinner was an opportunity for Georgian and Tudor nobility to show their wealth by serving roasted meats and indulgent desserts. The Victorians, however, started moving to vegetables which became less associated with less wealthy classes. Cabbage, sprouts, carrots, parsnips and other winter vegetables became Christmas staples across society. Desserts like gingerbread, Christmas pudding and mince pies also came into fashion.
In the 1930s, Christmas dinner stayed relatively similar to the Victorian era. A turkey would cost around a week’s wage for most people, which would have to be collected as close to Christmas day as possible for people who did not own a fridge.
Cocktails were also becoming popular with wealthy people as well as drinking champagne punch with dinner.
Fun fact: lobster au gratin was a popular starter. Lobster used to be very cheap and was even served in prisons!
These days, Christmas dinner holds onto some traditions from the Victorian era and early to mid-20th century. And with supermarkets competing for the essential Christmas revenue, each one comes up with their own Christmas dinner sides, desserts and mains as well as ad campaigns to win over the market. For example, LIDL’s melting chocolate house or Tesco’s panettone.
Featured image credit: Pexels
Third year journalism student. 2025/2026 Lifestyle and Comment Editor at Brig. Published in The Yucatán Times, Mi Campeche and The Mourning Paper. Host of From the 40s with Air3Radio.
