We all celebrate Christmas in our own special ways and it’s very interesting to look at other cultures and see how they celebrate the holiday.
Festa Dei Sette Pesci or Feast of the Seven Fishes is an Italian tradition where you eat only seafood dishes on Christmas Eve. While the origins of the tradition start in southern Italy, mostly it’s celebrated by Catholic families and communities here in the United States. The original tradition was born out of the Catholic requirement to not eat red meat on specific holy days and families would feast on fish dishes before they would head to church for midnight mass.
Today in the United States the Feast of the Seven Fishes isn’t just a family dinner on Christmas Eve. The diversity of ways to celebrate this Christmas tradition is matched by the diversity of the people celebrating. Catholic churches and community halls hold ‘seven fish’ dinners throughout the month of December. There are festivals that offer not only a wide variety of seafood options but gifts and classes and decorations; all with an Italian flavor. Restaurants offer special ‘seven fish’ dinners and TV chefs devote whole programs to recipes for the celebration.
I may not be a huge fan of all things fishy, but if I find a Feast of the Seven Fishes locally, I might just check it out.
No comments:
Post a Comment