Feast of the seven fishes

Feast of the seven fishes

Southern Italians around the world celebrate Christmas Eve with a Feast of the Seven Fishes, also known as "La Vigilia" (Italian: "the vigil").

It is a meal that typically consists of 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.

Tradition and symbolism

The tradition of eating seafood on Christmas Eve dates from the medieval Catholic tradition of abstinence--in this case, refraining from the consumption of meat or milk products--on Fridays and specific holy days. As no meat or butter could be used, observant Catholics would instead eat fish, typically fried in oil.

There are many hypotheses for what the number "7" relates to, one being the number of Sacraments in the Roman Catholic Church. Another theory is that seven is a number representing perfection: the traditional Biblical number for divinity is three, and for Earth is four, and the combination of these numbers, seven, represents God on Earth, or Jesus Christ.

A typical Christmas Eve meal

The components to the meal are similar for most families as there are always some seven combinations of anchovies, sardines, dried salt cod, smelts, eels, squid, octopus, shrimp, mussels, oysters, and clams. In the mixes are pastas, vegetables, baked or fried kale patties, baked goods, and the pride-filled homemade wine.

Popular dishes

*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
*Cod fish balls in tomato sauce
*Marinated eel
*Baccalà
*Whiting
*Kale patties (baked or fried)

External links

* [http://italianfood.about.com/library/weekly/blnl072.htm Explanation of The Feast of the Seven Fishes]
* [http://www.sevenfishesblog.com Feast of the Seven Fishes blog: A weblog about this Italian Christmas Eve tradition]
* [http://italianfood.about.com/od/holidaymenus/a/aa120402.htm A Christmas meal in Tuscany]
* [http://italianfood.about.com/od/holidaydishes/a/aa121703.htm Traditional Christmas Sweets]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • feast of the seven fishes — an Italian tradition on Christmas Eve (La Vigilia or the vigil in Italian, commemorating the midnight birth of Jesus). The meal consists of seven seafoods including fish and other marine organisms, e.g. anchovies, sardines, dried salt cod, smelts …   Dictionary of ichthyology

  • The Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist —     The Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist     † Catholic Encyclopedia ► The Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist     In this article we shall consider:     ♦ the fact of the Real Presence, which is, indeed, the central dogma;     ♦ the …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • The Next Iron Chef — Who will climb the ranks to culinary greatness? Format Reality, Cooking Starring Alton Brown Mark Dacascos …   Wikipedia

  • Early Symbols of the Eucharist —     Early Symbols of the Eucharist     † Catholic Encyclopedia ► Early Symbols of the Eucharist     Among the symbols employed by the Christians of the first ages in decorating their tombs, those which relate to the Eucharist hold a place of the… …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Chronology of the Life of Jesus Christ —     Chronology of the Life of Jesus Christ     † Catholic Encyclopedia ► Chronology of the Life of Jesus Christ     In the following paragraphs we shall endeavour to establish the absolute and relative chronology of our Lord s life, i.e. we shall …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Philip The Apostle, Saint — ▪ Christian Apostle born , Bethsaida of Galilee died 1st century, ; Western feast day May 3, Eastern feast day November 14  one of the Twelve Apostles. Mentioned only by name in the Apostle lists of the Synoptic Gospels, he is a frequent… …   Universalium

  • List of public houses in the United Kingdom — This is an incomplete list, which may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries. The following is a list of public houses in the United Kingdom. Contents 1 England 1 …   Wikipedia

  • Robert Tinnell — Robert Tinnell, a West Virginia native, is a motion picture screenwriter, director, and producer. He is also the author of several comic books and graphic novels, notably with a horror slant. Robert has two children Isabella and Jack and a wife… …   Wikipedia

  • Jeffrey Tinnell — (born May 4, 1963), a native of Fairmont, West Virginia, is a motion picture producer and publisher of graphic novels. Following a series of stints as a freelance production manager and producer, Tinnell co founded the award winning, Los Angeles… …   Wikipedia

  • Canon of the Mass — • Article divided into four sections: (I) Name and place of the Canon; (II) History of the Canon; (III) The text and rubrics of the Canon; (IV) Mystical interpretations Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Canon of the Mass      …   Catholic encyclopedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”