Like most countries, Hungary has its own Christmas menu which is related to customs and traditions.
Late in the afternoon, family members gather around the decorated Christmas tree, light candles, and sing traditional Christmas songs while looking for their gifts under the tree. The Christmas menu will follow.
Tables are decorated with green pine boughs, Christmas decorations, oranges and apples, which are the symbols of health and love in peasant culture. Most Hungarian families still eat fish soup on December 24.
Popular desserts flavored with poppy seeds can be traced back to a much older tradition. The countless number of tiny seeds, as a fertility spell during the winter solstice, was said to provide abundant crops the following year.
On the first and second day of Christmas, roasted turkey, turkey stuffed with chestnuts and stuffed cabbage are on the traditional menu.
If there was a pig slaughter before Christmas, the menu will contain fresh meat broth, sausage, roast pork with potato and other vegetable side dishes. The first dish of the feast is usually broth; the last one is either a sweet cake or the popular donut. This noble gastronomic event is accompanied by a quality wine suitable for the occasion.