Christmas cracker tradition of wearing festive hats is believed to date back to Roman times and the Saturnalia celebrations, which also involved decorative headgear. Christmas crackers are also associated with Knut's parties, held in Sweden at the end of the Christmas season. The "Oxford English Dictionary" records the use of "cracker bonbons" and the pulling of "crackers" from 1847. Tradition tells of how Tom Smith of London invented crackers in 1847. He created the crackers as a development of his bon-bon sweets, which he sold in a twist of paper (the origins of the traditional sweet-wrapper). As sales of bon-bons slumped, Smith
Christmas cake they are handled properly. In Germany, Stollen, a traditional German fruitcake, is popular. During the Christmas season, it's also called "Weihnachtsstollen" or "Christstollen". In Italy, Panettone, a sweet sourdough bread with a distinct cupola shape, is traditionally eaten at Christmas. It contains raisins and candied citrus fruit and is prepared meticulously over several days. Pandoro is a typically a Veronese product. Is traditionally shaped like a frustum with an eight-pointed star section. In France and in Lebanon, a Bûche de Noël (Yule Log cake) is the traditional Christmas cake. In Cyprus, it is served on Christmas Day. It is the