Christmas Traditions from Around the World

France
While Americans save the big feast for Christmas day, the French can't wait that long. Le Reveillon is a feast held after the Christmas Eve midnight mass (la Messe de Minuit) that serves to symbolically awaken participants to Jesus' birth, according to About.com.

During the feast a variety of traditional foods and deserts are served, which may include:

• Poultry like capon and goose
• Desserts like Boudin Blanc, white pudding
• La bûche de Noël or the Yule log is a cake that is made to look like a log
• Le pain calendeau, the Christmas Loaf is traditionally given to the poor
  

Latin America
In Latin America, Christmas time means pastels. A type of breaded wrap, it can be made from dough featuring plantains, cassava, rice or even pumpkin. The little dishes are made by the dozens around the holidays and served with traditional Christmas fare like arroz con gandules (rice and peas) or roasted pork.

Wash it all down with a few swigs of coquito, a Puerto-Rican beverage that's similar to eggnog, and you'll swear you're in the balmy tropics.

Japan
Christmas in Japan is marked by a very special dessert and a surprising choice in music. The Christmas cake, Japan's answer to the fruitcake, is a sponge cake topped with whipped cream and strawberries that is served around the holidays. The Daiku, a Beethovan's Ninth Symphony, is considered traditional Christmas music in the country.

South Africa
Unlike Christmas in most parts of the world, a South African holiday season is marked by summer weather and the full bounty of local flowers. Outdoor dinners during the season include turkey, yellow rice, and plum pudding.

You can't go wrong with traditional Christmas food and customs, but if you are looking for a new, different, international taste, sample one of the exotic