Feast of the seven fishes
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Italians around the world celebrate Christmas Eve with a Feast of the Seven Fishes, also known as La Vigilia.
It is a meatless meal that consists of, typically, seven different seafood dishes. Some Italian families have been known to celebrate with 9, 11 or 13 different seafood dishes. This celebration is a commemoration of the wait, Vigilia di Natale, for the midnight birth of the baby Jesus.
There are many hypotheses for what the number "7" relates to, one being the number of Sacraments in the Catholic Church.
The components to the meal are similar for most families as there are always some seven combinations of: anchovies, sardines, dried salt cod, eels, squid, octopus, shrimp, mussels, oysters, and clams. In the mix are pastas, vegetables, baked goods, and the pride-filled homemade wine.
Popular Dishes include:
Stuffed Calamari in Tomato Sauce
Fried Smelts
Oyster Shooters
Deep Fried Calamari
Deep Fried Breaded Oysters
Deep Fried Fish/Shrimp
Deep Fried Scallops
Linguine with Clam Sauce
Marinated Eel
Baccala
Whiting
Tiramisu
