The holidays are synonymous with huge celebratory meals, including Christmas dinner, and the British royal family actually records proof of just how stomach-filling their holiday meals are. Royal family members weigh themselves before and after eating each of their Christmas dinners, a tradition with a surprising history.

In the Middle Ages, nobility hosted massive Christmas banquets to display their wealth, and though the Victorian era embraced a more intimate way of feasting, the focus remained on abundance. During King Edward VII's reign in the early 1900s, feast attendees began weighing themselves as a way to measure enjoyment of the meal.

It was said that if a diner gained weight (preferably about 3 pounds) after enjoying a feast, the meal was well-received and appreciated. Today, the royal family partakes in several grand feasts at their holiday home in Sandringham, and while the pre- and post-meal weigh-ins are a bit controversial, the royals remain attached to the tradition.