This nocturnal meal, eaten after the Midnight Mass in France and Canada, originally consisted of a simple snack of
biscuits or a piece of
tourtière, along with a hot drink. With the years, this snack has been transformed little by little
into a more lavish and elaborate meal. The same dishes that are served at Christmas dinner are also served at "réveillon", which is essentially limited to family.
In Canada, the custom of Christmas "réveillon" varies depending on the family, the period and the cultural context. For
Francophones living largely in rural areas, Christmas "réveillon" was not known until the 1930s when family festivities began to take shape with the commercialization of the holiday season.
For Anglophones and city dwellers, on the other hand, Christmas "réveillon" began to be part of family celebrations much
earlier, around 1875. The tendency to feast on Christmas Eve became more and more pronounced with the custom of
the decorated tree and the exchange of presents.
