Christmas Treats from Around the World

Many people have fond memories of Christmas candy from their childhood. Regardless of age, race, sex or culture, people all over the globe share a wide variety of Christmas candy during the jolly season. Christmas treats together with family members, close friends, gifts and religious significance make Christmas the celebration of the whole year

Christmas Treats in the Unites States

In the United States Christmas chocolate and other candies are traditionally placed in stockings mounted on the fireplace. The American tradition is that each child gets a stocking and that Santa Claus puts the candy in them. Other treats such as oranges were also placed in the stockings.

The stocking and placing of candy tradition supposedly began in Holland and brought to America by Dutch settlers who also gave Americans the tradition of placing coal instead of candy in the stockings of children who were naughty. The most famous American Christmas candy is the candy cane, a hardened sugar candy colored in a striped pattern, which is usually hung on the Christmas tree, but Christmas chocolate treats are the kids’ favorites.

European Christmas Candy

In Europe, shaped milk Christmas chocolate treats are very popular. Some of these feature distinctive characters such as Santa Claus. This can be considered a remnant of World War II when American soldiers gave out Christmas chocolate to hungry children. Christmas chocolate and candy have a long standing lineage in some European countries. In Austria, holiday season candy is supposedly given by the child Christ who takes the place of Santa. In some European countries, even some Christmas chocolate ingredients like Marzipan are closely associated with Christmas.

Christmas Delights in Latin Countries

In Spain and Mexico candy is given by three wise men who visited Jesus on the night of his birth. Religious history says that these three visitors bring gifts to children as they did to the child Christ.

English Holiday Candy

In Great Britain Santa Claus is called Father Christmas. Father Christmas looks a great deal like the American Santa Claus except that he usually has a hood instead of a hat. Like Santa, Father Christmas brings Christmas chocolate and candy treats to children across the country during the holiday season.

Candy is associated with Christmas in both England and Scotland because, until the 20th century it was one of the few gifts that the working classes could afford to give their children who only tasted candy on Christmas morning.

The big English companies make a wide variety of candy which is sold in sets and are available online for people that want to give their children a taste of an English Christmas. The modern English Christmas chocolate often features special Christmas boxes and themes and popular English candies include toffee and fudge. Turkish delight is another treat widely associated with Christmas in the UK.