What is the significance of seven fishes on christmas eve

Since Christmas Eve is the lead-up to the Feast of the Nativity and many Catholics attend Midnight Mass on Christmas, the fish portion of the feast is pretty easy to explain 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. It would also make sense that these same Italians brought this tradition with them when they immigrated to the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Our Western History Subject Index doesn't include any mention of the feast, except for a series of recipes that ran in the Rocky Mountain News in The earliest mention of the feast in the New York Times dates only back to , and even that article contains only anecdotal evidence that the tradition was born in the U.

Subsequent references to the Feast in the Paper of Record refer only to recipe books and menus. None of these articles contain much in the way of where the seven fishes came from. In fact, a Google search for the Feast suggests that the term has been used more frequently in recent years than in years past, especially on news sites. A similar dynamic holds true when searching newspaper and magazine databases. A article in the New York Times by Maria Laurino titled, "In 7 Fish More or Less , a Holiday Tradition," lays out plenty of theories as to what the seven fish stand for; the seven sacraments of the Catholic church; seven hills of Rome; the seven deadly sins though that's not very Christmas-y at all , but steers clear of drawing any conclusions.

On Wikipedia, an anonymous author postulates that seven is the number that appears most frequently in the Bible, but that theory didn't hit home with our Italian Research Group. Very few of them could remember their Catholic parents and grandparents ever reading the Bible, let alone counting the number of times certain numbers appeared in it. Unearthing the origin and meaning of the Feast of the Seven Fishes, it turns out, is something of a fool's errand. It seems clear that this tradition, like most traditions, varies greatly from region to region and from family to family.

As is also the case with most holiday celebrations, there's really no right or wrong way to do the Feast. In fact, some Italian American families only celebrate three fishes while others gasp serve lamb or roast beef on Christmas Eve.

What really matters is the time families spend preparing and consuming their traditional meals during the holidays. Several of our Italian researchers mentioned spending several days preparing stuffed calamari and other fish dishes as a group project. And in an age when families are scattered and traditions are frequently overlooked entirely, that sounds like a pretty good way to spend a holiday, no matter where your ancestors came from.

Are you interested in learning more about your Italian-American ancestry? Join us for our Italian Research Group on the first Wednesday of each month from 10 a.

The Feast of the Seven Fishes is the annual Christmas Eve vigil and epic seafood feast that has grown into the most beloved meal of the year in Italian-American households. Steeped in tradition, the Feast of the Seven Fishes is the centerpiece meal of the entire holiday season. It heartens homecooks to adhere to their heritage, while also inspiring them to step a bit out of their lasagna and baked ziti comfort zones.

Meanwhile, the tradition of eating a large and meatless meal on Christmas Eve is common throughout Italy. As for the exact number of fish dishes being a strict seven, no one quite knows how Italian-Americans landed on that numerical marker. No matter where that number came from, there are traditional dishes that most Italian-American families insist must be among the seven.

Taking tradition and memory into account, here are the most common fish, shellfish, and entire dishes you might find at an Italian-American Christmas Eve gathering. Some should be enjoyed with pasta, while others are just as delicious enjoyed on their own. There definitely must be a few snack-sized, appetizer-type dishes in this feast, and baked clams are the ideal entry point into the seafood extravaganza. The debate rages on between chopped or whole clams as the best sea route to take here—with some insisting on the full briny bite of the whole clam, while others preferring the clam flavor to be spread throughout those buttery breadcrumbs.

Larger smelts can be butterflied, with the flesh pulling easily off those tiny fish bones. But the real joy is with the tiny smelts that can be eaten whole—bones and all! These crispy little morsels burst with the flavors of the sea. It is also worth noting that while it's called the Feast of the Seven Fishes, the meal includes more than just fish.

Side dishes and other accompaniments to the fish round out the meal. Because the number of fish eaten on this day does vary from area to area in fact, in Italy, this feast is mainly referred to as La Vigilia, or the vigil. The number part seems to be a North American addition , there is no exact meaning behind the number seven. It has been hypothesized, however, that the number refers to the fact that seven is "God's number. Other theories include references to the seven sacraments and to the seven deadly sins.

Rather than serving seven fish, some households serve ten, to designate the stations of the cross. Nine fish refers to the holy trinity, multiplied by three.

Serving 12 fish, however, typically refers to the number of Apostles, although some households serve 11 or 13 for the same reason. Other numbers may be used by families forging their own traditions or using whatever amounts of fish are available to feed a specific number of guests. While only those in Southern Italy and Sicily celebrate Christmas Eve with a feast of seven fishes, there are other Italian traditions that have ties to the Feast of Seven Fishes.

Eaten in many parts of Italy on Christmas Eve is a dish called cenone , which is made of eel. Eel is regarded as a delicacy in Italy, and therefore a must be on every table for Christmas Eve, regardless of whether there are numerous other fish dishes or not.