Most Americans have turkey (as well as stuffing, mashed potatoes & gravy, and pumpkin pie) for their Christmas meals. But turkey wasn't always the traditional meat for Christmas.
Many Christmas food customs in the U.S. come from those in the UK. In Medieval England, peacock or boar was the main course; turkey was later imported into the country and became the main course for the upper classes in the 1700s. But the goose was the traditional bird of choice through the 19th century, especially for the working classes -- hence the references in A Christmas Carol, in which Bob Cratchit's kids retrieve their Christmas goose from the baker because they didn't have an oven to roast it themselves. Today, the Christmas meal in the UK is usually roast turkey, goose, or chicken with stuffing, potatoes, and mince pies and Christmas pudding.
In the U.S., there is a variety of food traditions depending on state/region:
New England has Lumberjack Pie (mashed potato crust, filled with meats, onion, and cinnamon); the Pennsylvania Dutch serve Sand Tarts (thin, crisp sugar cookies); North Carolina has Moravian Love-Feast Buns (faintly sweet bread); Virginia has oyster and ham pie; Louisiana has Creole Gumbo; New Mexico has Empanaditas (small beef pies with pine nuts and raisins).
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