he food most closely associate with Christmas today comes from two sources: the first was Charles Dickens' story "A Christmas Carol" which featured fowl, mashed potatoes, gravy, apple-sauce, and pudding. This 'christmas feast' was blended with the second; the American Harvest Bounty Feast. Originally a tradition of 19th Century New Englanders, it slowly spread from its original time of the harvest in October to the winter celebration of Christmas. This feast included the 'traditional' food of the Pilgrims: turkey, pumpkins, corn, lima beans, and cranberries.

Egg Nog is an American invention, originally known as 'egg grog'. Rum was added to the traditional French drink 'lait de poule' in Virginia during the late 1700s.