An Old Country Christmas Eve
Jill Friday, December 17, 2010 at 01:00PM 
My grandma's Christmas dinner circa 1950
My grandmother was from the old country—Reggio di Calabria, the tiptoe of the Italian boot, to be exact. Pasqualina, or Pina, as I called her, was quite the cook and never was this more apparent than during the holidays. As a kid, I would love to go over to her house to help make biscotti and ricotta pie and all the other sweets that we would enjoy during the days leading up to Christmas. On Christmas day, Pina always cooked up a feast that started with antipasto, moved on to spaghetti and meatballs, sometimes included a ham, and generally ended with some type of Jell-o amongst all of the other sweets. (Strange, I know, but she was an American housewife of the 1950’s so I have to let the Jell-o slide).
My immediate family was responsible for making Christmas Eve dinner, but with all of the kid-centric activities going on, we usually just made reservations. Although this wouldn’t seem like a huge task compared to preparing a meal at home, it was somewhat of a challenge due to Pina’s mandate that we must have fish. Why fish, you ask? Well, in the south of Italy, it’s tradition for families to celebrate the Feast of the Seven Fishes. On Christmas Eve, or the Vigilia di Natale in Italian, families abstain from meat and instead feast on seafood while they stay up to celebrate the midnight birth of Jesus. Traditionally, the host would serve seven seafood dishes representing the seven sacraments, the seven days of creation, or the biblically divine number seven. No one’s really sure about the significance anymore, and sometimes the number of dishes changes to 9, 11 or even 13—the important part is, it’s all seafood.
While there is no specific menu for the Feast of the Seven Fishes, there are a number of things that are likely to be served. Baccalà, or salted codfish, was a popular staple amongst poor southern Italian families and usually found its way onto the Christmas Eve table. Fried smelts, calamari, scungilli, and baked eel would also be included in the most traditional of meals. As Italians like my grandmother migrated to America and began to create a hybrid of Italian and American cultures, popular American dishes such as shrimp cocktail, lobster and crab cakes were added onto the feast menu as well. Seven separate dishes (or 13, if you’re really going all out) would be a lot to eat even for a big Italian family, so oftentimes the host might supplement the meal with dishes featuring smaller fish like sardines or anchovies. The main course usually features a fresh large fish like tuna, swordfish, or, if you live in Florida like I do, grouper.
If you don’t have an Italian grandmother to put to work in the kitchen on Christmas Eve, or if you have a family with lots of different palates to please you may want to think about going out for your fish feast like my family—and as long as you’re picking up the check, you might as well get some miles with your mussels marinara! Here are some great Rewards Network restaurants that will satisfy your holiday seafood craving and leave your grandma with a smile on her face too:
1515 Gulf Blvd
Indian Rocks Beach, FL 33785
P. (727) 596-1515
- The grouper picatta will remind your nonna why she retired to Florida!
27 4th Street North
St. Petersburg, FL 33701
P. (727) 895-4909
- Mussels prepared three ways will give your guests lots to choose from—order one as an entrée, or share all three as an appetizer.
3621 W Waters Ave
Tampa, FL 33614
P. (813) 932-1922
- The Pesce Alla Livornese is a great, light choice for those sticking to the Mediterranean diet this holiday season.
Jill is a member of SkyMiles® Dining
Reader Comments (2)
Love the photo of the old-fashioned dinner...the pretty china cabinet, festive galand, and cute tie your grandma is wearing are priceless! I learned something new about the Feast of the Seven Fishes too!
Great article about a much-loved Italian tradition.