Our festive food habits are based on tradition and imitating innovations by the wealthy, says historian Christopher Winn
There’s a lot to think about during the festive season, but can Christopher Winn, author of The Book of Christmas: The Hidden Stories Behind Our Festive Traditions, help us figure out at least one conundrum: what time should people sit down to eat?
If I had to guess, I’d say traditionally it’s served around the Queen’s speech, or the King’s speech now?
It’s just supposed to be a middle-of-the-day meal, so the Queen’s speech, at 3pm, adapted to it rather than the other way round. In other parts of Europe, people prefer their Christmas meal on Christmas Eve and eat leftovers the next day. In Britain, much of the way we do it comes from the Victorians. Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol is a good snapshot: Scrooge gave the Cratchits a turkey instead of goose, that sort of thing.
