Family Feud: AITA for Refusing to Cook Traditional Christmas Dish?

AITA for breaking a cherished family tradition by refusing to cook our traditional Christmas dish, sparking a heated debate about personal preferences vs. honoring heritage?

Sophia

Published in Interesting
7 Dec 2025

Family Feud: AITA for Refusing to Cook Traditional Christmas Dish?

The holiday season is often a time of nostalgia, family bonding, and cherished traditions, but what happens when personal preferences clash with those long-held customs? This Reddit thread explores a fascinating dilemma faced by a 28-year-old woman who finds herself at odds with her family over their beloved Christmas pudding—a dish steeped in history but not in her taste.

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For years, she has dutifully participated in the preparation of this traditional dessert, handed down through generations, despite her lack of enthusiasm for its fruit and nut combination. This year, however, she has decided to draw the line, suggesting the family consider new options or tweak the recipe to better suit everyone’s palate.

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The pushback from her family is immediate, with accusations of trying to alter a tradition that they hold dear, leading her to question if she is in the wrong for wanting to prioritize her own enjoyment during the holidays. As the comments roll in, opinions are sharply divided.

Some support her desire for change, while others emphasize the importance of tradition and unity within the family dynamic. This thread invites readers to weigh in on a classic holiday conundrum: Should personal preferences take precedence over familial customs, or is there a way to strike a balance that honors both?

Original Post

I (28F) come from a big family where cooking together during the holidays is a cherished tradition. Every year, we gather to prepare a special dish that has been passed down for generations - my great grandmother's famous Christmas pudding recipe.For background, I've never been a fan of this dish. The combination of fruits, nuts, and spices just doesn't sit well with my taste buds.However, I've always gone along with making it to keep the family tradition alive. This year, as we started planning our holiday menu, the topic of the Christmas pudding came up.I expressed my hesitation about making it again, hoping we could try something new or perhaps tweak the recipe to suit everyone's tastes better. But my family was adamant about sticking to the original recipe.I finally stood my ground and told them that I wouldn't be participating in making the Christmas pudding this year. I offered to make a different dessert that we could all enjoy, but they were upset and accused me of trying to change our longstanding tradition.They argue that I should put aside my personal preferences for the sake of family unity, while I feel like it's unfair to always cater to a tradition that I don't even like. So AITA?