In our podcast for this topic we spoke with Regina Sexton, food and culinary historian from University College Cork

She is also the author of A Little History of Irish Food. The discussion was wide ranging but I thought it might be interesting to share the origins of two of the mainstays of christmas food traditions in this article, the turkey and the mince pie.
The "big bird" has been influenced by the work of Victorian writers like Charles Dickens and the ideals of family, luxury and comfort that informed Victorian traditions. However as Regina makes clear, the big bird was not a new invention of the 19th century and in fact during medieval times, what would now seem exotic were staples of the Christmas table, the swan, the heron and even the peacock. The driver for the exotic birds was to ensure fresh meat was served at Christmas, both to display wealth and luxury and to celebrate the turning of the year from a time when days grew shorter to a time when day began, slowly to lengthen.
The modern mince pie displays only some of the attributes of the very old traditions that saw its creation in the middle ages. Where our mince pies are fruit laden and almost exclusively sweet, the mince pies of the 1500s were actually made with meat, mutton or beef according to Regina and were heavy with animal fat. like the desire for birds, the rarity of meat served in any form in the depths of winter made the mince pie, with its spice and meat quite the luxury.

But mince pies were introduced very early. Selden says that the coffin shape of the crust is an imitation of the cratch or manger wherein the "infant Jesus was laid," but we must turn to Misson for a description of its contents. He says:

Every family against Christmas, makes a famous pie, which they call 'Christmas pie'. It is a great nostrum; the composition of this pasty is a most learned mixture of neats' tongues, chicken, eggs, sugar, raisins, lemon and orange-peel, with various kinds of spicery.

On inquiry in the kitchen, we have learned that neats' tongues and chickens have been replaced with beef, but that "perhaps the old fashion was a good one." Misson, however, tells that the English, in addition to their Christmas pie, made "plum porridge," which was served up to table in bowls, and eaten with a spoon. This was the original Christmas pudding, and there are some in England who even unto this day have their bowl of plum porridge. Brand mentions that on Christmas Day, 1801, he dined with the Royal Chaplain at St. James's, "and partook of the first thing served up and eaten on that festival at that table: i. e., a tureen full of luscious plum porridge."* There is no accounting for tastes, but for ourselves we prefer to have it in the reasonable form of pudding.

FROM: The Christmas book: Christmas in the olden time, its customs and their origin : the holly and ivy, sports of the eve, Yule log, boar's head, the dinner, mummers, Lord of Misrule, Saturnalia, carols, mysteries and plays, boxes, &c. &c

Image courtesy of Flickr user jackhynes and cc.