In well-to-do families it was customary to serve chicken on Christmas day in Southern Italy. The very well-to-do might even have turkey or duck. Those who lived in the countryside might "sacrifice" an old hen for the traditional Christmas lunch, but many simply bought the cheapest cuts of meat available at their local butcher shop. Freshly-slaughtered meat was considered a delicacy simply because most subsistent farmers couldn't afford it. They made do with air-dried sausages etc. Most households did make desserts, partly because it was the tradition, but also because the sweet fritters they made were relatively inexpensive, as most grew their own wheat and made their own olive oil. In any case, as soon as Italians from the South immigrated to North America they began to include meat in their everyday meals, so come Christmas they had to include more than the usual stuff. As most people ate chicken on a regular basis, it no longer became fashionable to serve it for Christmas (as it had been in Italy). By the late 1970s most households served eight or nine courses on Christmas day. "Surf and turf" along with a variety of desserts (many store-bought) were often on the menu.

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