Feast of the Seven Fishes: A Sicilian Christmas Eve Dinner (2024)

FAQs

What are the 7 fishes Italians eat on Christmas Eve? ›

This pasta involves seven fish: clams, mussels, halibut, shrimp, anchovy, calamari and scallops. It's nice to have a whole fish, head and tail included, to signify abundance.

In much of Italy, tradition calls for fish on Christmas Eve, once a day of abstinence in the church calendar. Fish is tied to the Christian religion in other ways: As far back as the days of the Roman Empire, a fish symbol was used by early Christians as a way of identifying each other.

Italian-American families rekindled the Old Country's Christmas Eve tradition by preparing a seven-course seafood meal (hence the name of the newly found tradition) that both made them feel close to their homes, while celebrating the sea, a major connection in Italy.

What are the first Sicilian Christmas dishes. More often than not it is baked pasta , timbales of pasta or rice, lasagna, in short, rich and caloric Christmas first courses that best interpret the festive feeling.

Festa dei Sette Pesci (The Feast of Seven Fishes)

The Catholic Church specifies the days on which meat is to be avoided (seafood doesn't count as meat), but it doesn't include the day before Christmas (unless it falls on a Friday).

In Northern Italy, Lasagne Bolognese and filled pasta like manicotti and ravioli are traditional Christmas fare. Next comes the main event, the meat. Roasted veal, baked chicken, sausages or braised beef are common Natale entrées worth celebrating.

According to tradition, the meal for Christmas Eve, La Vigilia, doesn't have any meat. It's all fish and vegetables. That's in keeping with most meals served on the eve before a religious festival in Italy: You're supposed to have a giorno di magro, eating lean to help purify your body for the holiday.

Plot. Feast of the Seven Fishes is a romantic comedy set in a rust-belt town on the banks of the Monongahela River in 1983.

The ichthys symbol (or "Jesus fish") is a sign typically used to proclaim an affiliation with or affinity for Christianity. The fish was originally adopted by early Christians as a secret symbol, but the many variations known today first appeared in the 1980s.

How many fishes are in the Feast of Fishes? ›

The Feast of the Seven Fishes is uniquely American. Italian immigrants created their own traditions and identities, and likely used the number seven because of its biblical significance. The feast is typically made up of at least seven dishes, each containing its own type of fish, separated into various courses.

The seven fish dishes refer to the seven sacraments of the Roman Catholic church, or the seven days it took God to make the Universe, or the seven virtues, or the seven deadly sins. Some Italians celebrate with 13 dishes for the 12 apostles plus Jesus.

The long tradition of eating seafood on Christmas Eve dates from the Roman Catholic tradition of abstaining from eating meat on the eve of a feast day. As no meat or animal fat could be used on such days, observant Catholics would instead eat fish (typically fried in oil).

Besides the evenings at home, in Sicily people have fun also in the squares and in the streets that, in this period of the year, are enriched by wonderful and elaborated illuminations. In some cities of the island are organized real shows, such as "Lo Zucco" (U Zuccu): Lo Zucco is a huge bonfire on Christmas Eve.

Italian Christmas Eve - Feast of the Seven Fishes

Bring on the sword fish, tuna, salmon, octopus salad, smelts, calamari, spaghetti with clam sauce and the famous Italian classic—salted cod, known as baccalà. The Feast of the Seven Fishes can also include other meatless dishes, which vary by region.

Eating carp at Christmas is a widespread tradition in Central and Eastern Europe. For centuries, families have enjoyed this freshwater fish as the main course for their Christmas Eve dinner.

Plot. Feast of the Seven Fishes is a romantic comedy set in a rust-belt town on the banks of the Monongahela River in 1983.

Among the different types of fish eaten on Christmas Eve, salted codfish is one of the most popular and versatile. It has always been considered a humble food because of its ease of storage, low cost and the fact that it is filling.