Most historians agree that the British have Charles Dickens to thank when they tuck into roast turkey at Christmas. “Turkey was around in the 1700s in Britain. But it’s Dickens in A Christmas Carol – he kind of invents that tradition,” says Rachel Rich, an expert on the history of food at Leeds Beckett University.

Over time, many more festive favourites emerged, from pigs in blankets to brussels sprouts, while the flavour palate of mince pies and Christmas pudding are based on spices that would have figured throughout the year for a lot of British people in the 18th century.

“However, that gradually gets narrowed down, so that by the 20th century, you’re really only associating those flavours with Christmas,” adds Rich, who authored The King’s Dinner: Family, Nation and Identity on the British Table. “The Christmas dinner in Britain is letting people eat a kind of concentrated version of traditional Britishness.”