Christmas is a time of year steeped in tradition and family gatherings and spending it away from home can be both an exciting adventure and a source of homesickness.

But spending Christmas in a new location can also open the door to new experiences, trying new local festive foods and the chance to make some new traditions embracing both the old and the new home

Ballincollig native Jessica Kenny is spending Christmas in Philadelphia where she lives with her husband, Ricky a New Jersey native.

The couple, who are both professional dancers will celebrate Christmas between New Jersey and Philadelphia.

‘On Christmas Eve we head to New Jersey where Ricky’s family live and go to church with them. His family attend a Baptist church and it’s very different to Mass at home in Cork. It’s almost like a concert with everyone singing and dancing and it’s a very vibrant celebration.’

The couple spend Christmas morning in their own home in Philadelphia where they will open their presents to each other before returning to New Jersey late in the afternoon for a Christmas dinner with Ricky’s family.

‘It’s a big family gathering and all the family come to Ricky’s parents’ house. They open their presents after the meal, which I find strange as growing up in Cork, we opened the presents the minute we woke on Christmas morning.’

Sweet potato pie with whipped cream

Food is a big thing for Christmas in the US as much as it is in Ireland says Jessica.

‘The food at Thanksgiving and Christmas are very similar, we have collard greens, corn bread, sweet potato pie and banana pudding, all of which I love.’ However, one dish from home she insists on is a traditional Irish ham.

‘The first year, I moved here, I went to every supermarket and every butcher in Philadelphia looking for a ham that you would get in Ireland. They are all pre-cooked here and they’re not the same. However, I’ve now found a supermarket that imports Irish foods so every year I go there to get the Christmas ham. The same store also sells selection boxes and the fancy biscuits you can get in Ireland.’

She’s also managed to convert her husband’s family to Irish ham, ‘they’re now obsessed with the ham, although the only thing is they enjoy it so much there’s none left over to have on St Stephen’s Day!’

Belinda Sloan, originally from South Africa is now living on Bere Island where she will spend Christmas with her twin daughters.

A South African Christmas she outlines is usually based around a traditional braai which involves cooking outside over wood or charcoal.

‘Christmas in South Africa is usually spent outdoors. We’ll have a braai, and then spend the day in the garden. It’s a really foody event for us, we could have prawns on the braai or one year we did a Tapas theme.’

It’s also a big family event, she says, and they also invite anyone who would otherwise be spending Christmas on their own.

Whilst St Stephen’s day doesn’t have an official title in South Africa explains Belinda, it is a continuation of Christmas.

‘It isn’t really marked as such the way it is in Ireland, they just call it a family day and people would tend to braai again on that day.’

Big shrimps with lemon and parsley on hot grill

Moving to Ireland was, she says a complete contrast for Christmas.

‘Here it’s more of an indoor event, but we still go all out for the food. We always have a watermelon and apple salad. My daughters and I aren’t great meat-eaters so we don’t tend to have a turkey, and instead of Christmas cake we’ll have profiteroles or chocolate mousse.’

A new tradition they have made says Belinda is that they each open one present on Christmas Eve and then the rest on Christmas morning.

‘Christmas is a real family time for the three of us to be together.’

Evie Bokuma is from Lativa and now living in Schull with her husband Edgars and three children where the family run a successful seafood business, Mizen Head Catch.

In Latvia she says, the main celebration is on Christmas Eve.

‘We spend Christmas Eve with our grandparents, all the cousins gather there and we open our presents around 8pm.’

As everywhere, food is an important part of the Christmas festivities. ‘In Latvia pork is the main meat dish, we serve it with sauerkraut and a potato salad mixed with ham, peas and eggs and then afterwards we’ll have gingerbread cookies.’

Now celebrating Christmas in Cork Evia still serves traditional Latvian dishes. ‘Instead of Christmas cake in Lativa we make apple flat breads with cottage cheese and we still have these in Cork.’

The family are also keen to embrace new foods for Christmas.

‘We found turkey very dry so now we have duck at Christmas, and we also have lobster and crayfish which we catch ourselves.’

The family has also started a new tradition around present giving.

‘Before we open our presents on Christmas Eve, each of our children has to recite a poem or sing a song by the Christmas tree before opening their presents.’

However, Santa is also aware the family have relocated to Schull as Evie explains, ‘the presents the children receive on Christmas are from my husband and I, but the ones they awake to on Christmas morning are from Santa.’

In Lativa December 26th is always a day for spending with the family, which Evie and Edgars have now designated at a day for their family.

‘Every St Stephen’s we always go ice-skating and that is now our new family tradition.’