Italian-American Christmas Eve ‘seven fishes’ tradition brings together faith and family, Fox Nation explores
Fox News
Fox Nation explores the fascination, celebration, and history of the Italian-American Christmas Eve tradition, the Feast of the Seven Fishes. Experience the journey of Italian-Americans from the fish market to their Christmas Eve tables as these dishes come to life.
In the special, Italian American Museum education consultant Marie Palladino explained that the seven fishes tradition has a biblical origin story, pulling from the number seven being repeated more than 700 times in the bible. For Italians, using the number seven in this way honors faith and the birth of Jesus Christ. "It’s a very holy, sacred number and Italians are very superstitious in our practice of religion in Catholicism, and so we applied this number to this feast," she said.
The seven fishes feast can include an endless array of prepared fish from seafood salad, to frutte del mare, and even to fried eel - which Palladino pointed out early Christians believed would ward off evil. But the meal is not enjoyed as indulgently in Italy as it is by Italian-Americans, as Italians tend to eat smaller portion sizes.
Steel Wheel Tavern executive chef Bryan Tortorella recalled watching his mother cook at a young age and being completely in awe of her stamina in the kitchen as she'd prepare the Christmas Eve feast and others.