Christmas Dinner: It's Not Thanksgiving Anymore

No repeats! That's the mantra that many of us are now accustomed to, living in a society where we are confronted with so many choices. So it's no surprise then, that when Christmas comes around on what feels like the heels of Thanksgiving, that some of us are yearning for something just a little different.

Christmas Dinner: It's Not Thanksgiving Anymore Slideshow

Luckily, Christmas is the perfect time to break with one's own food traditions and try someone else's for a change. Therein lies the greatest difference between celebrating Christmas and Thanksgiving when it comes to food: While at Thanksgiving everyone expects for there to be a turkey, gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, and that weird sweet potato (or is it yam?) casserole with marshmallows in it (for what else would the kids eat?) plus pumpkin pie, at Christmas, it needn't be so.

Slideshow: Christmas Dinner: It's Not Thanksgiving Anymore Slideshow

Christmas food traditions vary wildly across the world. Italian-Americans celebrate Christmas with the Feast of the Seven Fishes, Australians have a lovely beach barbecue (yes, we are jealous of that), and many folks in Britain still indulge in what must seem like an odd delicacy to Americans — roast goose. The writer of this article grew up having dim sum on Christmas — surrounded by like-minded folks who didn't want to cook, it's the one thing open on Christmas.

Here, we've drawn upon dishes from around the world and offered twists on traditional dishes to give you an alternative Christmas menu. Give these a try and get ready for a jazzed-up Christmas dinner.

Will Budiaman is the Recipe Editor at The Daily Meal. Follow him on Twitter @WillBudiaman.

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