21 Seafood Recipes for a Feast of the Seven Fishes (2024)

FAQs

What is a traditional Italian Christmas Eve dinner? ›

Consequently, Italians typically indulge in a fish feast on Christmas Eve as an alternative. The main course is usually a variety of seafood dishes, including shrimp, squid or octopus in tomato sauce, stuffed calamari, clams cooked with white wine and garlic, or baked fish. Pasta is also a popular choice.

There is no such thing as the Feast of Seven Fishes on the Roman Catholic calendar. There never has been an official feast with this name in Italy or the United States. In fact, most sources agree that serving fish on Christmas Eve is mainly practiced by Southern Italians, when it's practiced at all.

The significance of the seven fishes has a number of symbolic representations: the number of sacraments, the seven days of creation, the seven virtues, the seven deadly sins and the seven days it took Mary and Joseph to reach Bethlehem before baby Jesus was born.

Another huge tradition in the Italian culture is to refrain from eating animal by-products on Christmas Eve. That means no meat. You'll find a lot of Italian families' Christmas Eve dinner centered around fish and shellfish because they cannot eat meat. Not me, though.

La Vigilia di Natale (Christmas Eve) Foods

Catholic tradition prohibits the consumption of meat on the evenings before religious holidays. Most Italians, therefore, eat a fishy feast on Christmas Eve.

The Feast of the Seven Fishes is an Italian-American tradition to ring in Christmas Eve, when Roman Catholics celebrate the midnight birth of Jesus, known in Italian as “La Viglia.” Fish is a traditional ingredient in the Christmas Eve dinner because custom calls for the eschewing of red meat leading up to the holiday.

The Feast of the Seven Fishes is an Italian American Christmas Eve celebration that operates similarly to Thanksgiving, with traditional dishes and practices that span generations, decades and oceans.

In 2005, Marion County native Robert “Bob” Tinnel published his graphic novel, 'Feast of the Seven Fishes,' based on his experiences of growing up in an Italian-American family, specifically the Christmas Eve tradition of the same name that consists of a meatless meal with several seafood courses.

In Southern and Central Italy, baked pasta is a must. 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.

The number seven is rooted back in ancient times and it can be connected to multiple Catholic symbols: in fact, the seven seems repeated more than 700 times in the Bible. Also, according to the Roman Catholic Church, seven are the sacraments, the days of the Creation, as well as the deadly sins. Hence seven courses!

What religion is the seven fishes? ›

The feast of the seven fishes is based on ancient Catholic tradition. Learn how to celebrate this Christmas Eve banquet! For centuries, Catholics fasted before important holy days, including Christmas Day. They held “vigil” from sunset to sunrise, symbolically awaiting the holy event to come.

The origin of the Feast of the Seven Fishes can be traced back to southern Italy, the area that is surrounded by such bountiful coastline that seafood has been a massive part of the population's diet for generations.

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.

Traditionally, baccalà, or dried salted cod, is the most common Christmas Eve dish for southern Italians. You must soak the fish for a day or two to get rid of the salt, which is used as a preservative.

The hearty fiambre salad is probably the largest you'll ever have—it can include up to 50 ingredients! The giant salad's origins begin with All Saints' Day. To honor their departed loved ones, family members would bring different foods to their family graves.

My guess is that smelts came to the table for two reasons: they resembled sardines which Italians knew well; and, more important, smelts were cheap. Dust smelts up with a bit of flour or dredge them in bread crumbs or flour, fry them, drizzle them with a touch of lemon and they are the perfect finger food.