Christmas Dinner for Four People can Cost up to $96.85 with Basic Ingredients According to Acodeco

Ham is the most expensive protein, with a price that can reach around $40 for a 10-pound piece, although the price varies depending on the supermarket. Turkey is the next most expensive option. Chicken remains the most economical choice.

Is the Panamanian Flavor Being Lost at Christmas?

Turkey, ham bread, and hallacas have become increasingly common at celebrations. Christmas in Panama has always had its own unique flavor. A flavor that smells of rice with pigeon peas, roasted pork leg, tamales wrapped in bijao leaves, and recipes that are repeated year after year as an act of family remembrance.  However, in recent times, the Panamanian Christmas menu has been incorporating dishes from other latitudes that now share space on the December table, often out of curiosity.

What Happened When Other Flavors Arrive at Our Table?

Turkey, ham bread, and hallacas have become increasingly common at celebrations. Their presence is not negative, nor should it be seen as a threat.  Panama is a country of open doors, built on cultural diversity, and its gastronomy is no exception. Tasting, sharing, and adopting flavors from other countries is also a way of connecting with one another. 

Does Adding Dishes Mean Losing Identity?

However, expanding our culinary horizons shouldn’t mean abandoning our own traditions. The risk lies not in adding new dishes, but in forgetting those that define us. When rice with pigeon peas ceases to be the centerpiece, when tamales appear only out of obligation, or when traditional recipes are cooked less often because “hardly anyone makes them anymore,” a part of our identity begins to fade. The same is true for desserts. Panettone, of Italian origin, has become a December staple, found in supermarkets, gift exchanges, and family dinners. Its arrival has been well-received, but it shouldn’t overshadow deeply rooted Panamanian sweets like nance fruit candy, rum and raisin candy, new corn buns, or the traditional rum punch, which for years have brought Christmas celebrations to a close with a Panamanian flavor.

Appreciating Panamanian food doesn’t mean looking down on other countries’ cuisines.  On the contrary, recognizing our own allows us to share from a solid foundation.  Panettone can coexist with our traditional sweets, just as hallacas can coexist with tamales, and turkey with baked ham. 

Christmas and New Years are celebrations of togetherness, but also of our roots.  Keeping Panamanian cuisine alive during this time is a way to honor our history, our families, and our culture. Let the table be diverse, yes, but let it never lose that flavor that reminds us who we are and where we come from. 

Christmas is a celebration of togetherness, but also of roots. Keeping Panamanian cuisine alive during this time is a way to honor our history, our families, and our culture.