The TRAVELER'S JOURNAL: December twenty-fifth, with a taste of Christmas from around the world.

This is a special day for Christians everywhere, a holiday to be celebrated with joy, generosity and good food. From Rome to Rio, families and friends will be sitting down for their Christmas feast. While the spirit of the holiday is the same everywhere, traditional foods vary from nation to nation. Here's what's on the menu today.

Goose or turkey are the Christmas birds in Britain, France and Germany. The English favor their fowl served with bread-stuffing, plum pudding and mince pies. French birds are preceded by oysters or foie gras, stuffed with chestnuts, and followed by a buche de Noel, a rolled Christmas cake. In Germany, the fowl of choice is served stuffed with apples and leeks and dumplings on the side. For Italians, the Christmas meal begins with a seafood antipasto, followed by pasta with fish sauce and panettone, a light fruitcake. In Poland, they're feasting on red borscht, herring, sauerkraut with mushrooms and poppyseed cake. The centerpiece of the Russian Christmas feast is suckling pig stuffed with buckwheat porridge, along with pickled mushrooms, cucumbers and a variety of small savory pies.

Mexicans are enjoying Bacalao vizcaina, dry cod in tomato sauce with potatoes. It's served with tortas, dried shrimp croquettes and a sweet flan. Down in Brazil the turkey is stuffed with farofa, made with manioc flour. For dessert, there's Rabanadas, bread cut into thick slices and served like a sweet French toast.

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