The Nords have known how to party since before Christianity. Yule celebrations of the winter solstice meant epic feasting, including the slaughter of a pig in honor of the god Freyr-the origin of the Christmas ham. Juleøl, or Christmas beer, dates back to Medieval times. By 1252, Henry III was slaying 600 oxen, just in case the salmon pies and roasted peacocks were not enough food for the holiday festivities.

You can easily add northern European flair with seasonal drinks like glogg. Don't be put off by the unappetizing pronunciation-glogg is simply a mulled wine popular in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland. Red wine is heated withcinnamon, cloves and stronger spirits ranging from vodka to aquavit or cognac, for an added festive kick.Mulled wine is also a big part of holiday celebrations in Ireland and England-itself home to eggnog, originally made from eggs and nog, a strong English ale. In these countries, the wine is accompanied by mince pies. (The Irish have a tradition of leaving mince pie and a pint of Guinness as a snack for Santa, further proof that they are the party authority.)

Plum pudding, or plum cake in Ireland, slathered with brandy butter are holiday essentials, as is Christmas cake (aka fruit cake). In Scotland, traditional Christmas cake is known as Whisky Dundee after the region where it originated and its strong taste of Scotch whisky.

The party need not wait for the official holiday launch. December 13 is Luciadagen or St. Lucy's Day, a Swedish tradition which Norwegians have also adopted. To celebrate, the guest of honor-traditionally a family's eldest daughter-dresses up in a long, white costume with a "crown" on her head decorated with burning candles. She and other guests hand out lussekatter, saffron buns baked with raisins. The buns, usually shaped like an S or figure eight, are available online (www.scandiabakeshop.com) and can be a new holiday brunch tradition-flaming hat optional.

northern europe's holiday traditions