New Year and Christmas dishes around the world: lesson ideas

Whether you are celebrating Christmas or New Year, there is one thing in common — food. There are no holidays without delicious meals typical of this or that country. Here you will find lesson ideas to use with your Pre-Intermediate learners and discuss traditional tasty meals around the world.

Task 1: Warm-up

Look at the pictures. What do you think the topic of the lesson is?

Task 2

Discuss the questions:

1. How important are dishes in winter holidays?
2. Do you have any special food for Christmas/New Year
3. Are you good at making traditional dishes at New Year and Christmas? What is your favourite one?
4. Have you ever made or eaten any foreign food at Christmas/New Year? If so, what was it? Did you like it? If not, would you like to try it?
5. Which country do you think has the most amazing and tastiest traditional food for these holidays?

Task 3

a) Match the dishes with the names.


а) Roast goose with red cabbage
b) Stollen
c) Roast turkey served with potatoes
d) Mince pie
e) A bucket of fried chicken
f) 13 desserts
g) Boiled potatoes and fermented skate
h) Christmas pudding
i) Roast goose with a chestnut stuffing

b) Watch the video (till 03:23) and check your guesses.

c) Put the traditional dishes into the correct column.

1. Roast goose with red cabbage
2. Stollen
3. Roast turkey served with potatoes
4. Mince pie
5. A bucket of fried chicken
6.13 desserts
7. Boiled potatoes and fermented skate
8. Christmas pudding
9.Roast goose with a chestnut stuffing

Keys:

a)

1. — h
2. — b
3. — d
4. — c
5. — i
6. — a
7. — e
8. — g
9. — f

b)

Britain — Roast turkey served with potatoes, Christmas pudding, mince pie

Iceland — Boiled potatoes and fermented skate

France — Roast goose with a chestnut stuffing, 13 desserts

Germany — Roast goose with red cabbage, stollen

Japan — A bucket of fried chicken

Task 4

Watch the video (till 03:23) again and answer the questions.

1. How is roast turkey served at Christmas in England?
2. What is usually hidden in Christmas pudding?
3. What are mince pies made of?
4. What do people from Iceland tend to do in the weeks leading up to Christmas?
5. Why do many Icelanders prefer to go to a restaurant and have boiled potatoes and fermented skate there?
6. What do 13 desserts in France symbolize?
7. What is a stollen?
8. In which country people have a bucket of fried chicken as a traditional Christmas dish?

Keys:

1. A roast turkey is usually served with Brussels sprouts roasted veg, gravy, and either boiled, mashed, or roasted potatoes.
2. A lucky coin is usually hidden somewhere in the middle of the cake.
3. They are filled with a mixture of dried fruit and nuts known as mincemeat.
4. They tend to fast which generally means avoiding meat.
5. To avoid filling their homes with a funky fishy fragrance.
6. Christ and His 12 apostles.
7. It is a sweet fruitcake often baked into a hump to symbolize camels who carried the three wise men to Jesus.
8. In Japan.

Task 5

Match the words with the definitions.

1. To set on fire
2. Moreish
3. Fast
4. Funky
5. Fragrance
6. Snack on
7. Mashed
8. Pungent

a) Causing a desire for more.
b) Strong and sharp.
c) Reduced to a pulpy mass by crushing.
d) A distinctive odour that is pleasant.
e) To make something start burning.
f) Abstain from certain foods for religious reasons.
g) Strongly musty (stale and unclean smelling).
h) To eat small amounts of something as a snack.

Keys:

1. — e
2. — a
3. — f
4. — g
5. — d
6. — h
7. — c
8. — b

Task 6

Fill in the gaps with the missing words from the previous task.

1. A roast turkey is usually served with boiled or ___ potatoes.
2. This is often followed by Christmas pudding which is ___ before being served with brandy butter.
3. Icelanders tend to ___ in the weeks leading up to Christmas which generally means avoiding meat.
4. They usually have boiled potatoes and fermented skate which is rather ___.
5. Mince pies are super delicious and slightly ___.
6. Many people dine at restaurants to avoid filling their homes with a ___ fishy ___.
7. Thirteen dishes are left out for three days for people to ___, although they might not last that long in the house.

Keys:

1. — mashed
2. — set on fire
3. — fast
4. — pungent
5. — moreish
6. — funky, fragrance
7. — snack on

Task 7

Discuss the questions using new words where possible (to set on fire, moreish, fast, funky, fragrance, snack on, mashed, pungent).

1. Why do you think it is important to follow the traditions and cook special dishes at Christmas/New Year?
2. Which traditional dish from the video would you like to try? Why?
3. Is there any food on the list that you think is quite funky?
4. Do you or any of your friends fast before Christmas/New Year? If so, what food do you avoid eating?
5. Do you mind cooking at home if the food fills it with some pungent fragrance? If so, do you order the food or just eat out?
6. Is there any dish in your country that is similar to the ones presented in the video? If so, how do you make it?

We wish you a merry lesson!

Read more:

Test: How well do you know Christmas and its traditions?

Christmas games