THE TALE OF THE 7 FISHES (2022)
On Christmas Eve, our Holy Father Francis and the cardinals gathered at the Vatican’s refectory with lobster bibs on them will probably not eat seven fishes, roasted chestnuts, and drink limoncello.
(Image) via Epicurious Laura Murray
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Buongiorno amici:
We commonly refer to it as the feast of “the seven fish,” which reappears yearly during the Christmas Holidays, specifically the night of December 24. It is a ritual that Italian Catholics in the USA enjoy profusely every year. La “Vigilia,” the vigil, is a solemn waiting time spent with family and friends for the arrival of Jesus. Unfortunately, we did not inherit this noble culinary practice from the motherland. Besides, it does not list anywhere in the Catholic liturgical calendar.
During this time, many of the culinary delights we prepare have a spiritual connection that represents our fate through food. For example, Catholics often prepare certain cookies just on Easter. Other specialties are offered exclusively in the Lent period, many solely on Sundays or other critical family gatherings.
However, I wonder what would make the church decide that we should consume seven fishes on the eve of the birth of Jesus, not eight or four, but just seven? Through the years, I have heard many versions wrapped in pagan mythology, without foundation or logic, but merely a product of human exaggeration and business savvy. Seven days a week, seven sacraments, seven children in a family, seven whatever else someone decided to fabricate.
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The Catholic Church only suggests that on the eve of Christmas, in preparation for our Messiah’s arrival, Catholics all over the World indulge in a diet of “Magro,” which means nearly lean foods. Consuming such specialties symbolizes the renouncement we all offer to the Lord on Christmas Eve. On Christmas day, however, the opposite happens. We celebrate the arrival of Jesus with the consumption of elaborate foods rich in flavors, and we glutton passionately through our sweets to participate in the memorable event.
For instance, eel is consumed in Campania, usually fried or stewed with a light tomato broth and bay leaves. The Campani folks prefer the female gender called “capitone,” much fatter and oily.
The eel consumption represents the destruction of evil in our souls, as Satan biblically appears in a serpent form. In Umbria, the serpent appears in a sweet delicacy format called Serpentone di Todi. Almonds and egg white are blended with sugar, then shaped in a snake’s form, and ultimately baked. In the country’s Northern regions, fish hardly appears because it was never part of the holiday menu throughout the centuries. In Abruzzo, we consume baked pasta, perhaps soup, stewed legumes, and boiled chestnuts. As a fish, the octopus often takes center stage or stuffed mussels.
If consuming fish on Christmas Eve gives us the feeling of abstinence when did we decide to buy lobsters, shrimp, scallops, salted cod, clams, etc., which come with a hefty price? It’s hardly a sacrifice when we indulge in costly foods, on a night when the celebration is not about food, but on a sacred arrival, which often becomes secondary.
It has become a ritual of our cultural fabric that other non-Catholics adhere to not for religious meaning but for displaying culinary abundance. It has become so much of a business that establishments are open to accommodate those who believe that the Catholic Church wrote this as a food holiday and that the magic number is seven. If you do not desire the banning from participating in the sacraments, please stay within the seven. There is no set menu,’ and if you ask 10 American-Italians, you will get ten different food compilations based on family traditions.
It is odd to believe that on the eve of Christmas, Holy Father Francis will gather with all the cardinals in the Vatican Refectory and indulge in fried baccala’, snail salad, stuffed quahogs, fried capitone, and spaghetti with lobster Diavolo. Then move near the fireplace to enjoy some roasted chestnuts and limoncello? That’s not happening!
However, regardless of how it started, it is still a fantastic way to celebrate this solemn religious event. Indeed, we all have the right to celebrate with whatever food we like, but remember that it is a tradition created by the immigrants in their new assimilation of American dining and folkloristic habits, such as Thanksgiving and the 4th of July on the grill everything.
Lastly, if you happen to be in Italy on your travel, visiting the Vatican seven times ought to be the only thing to do. And while standing at midnight in Via della Conciliazione, staring at Saint Peter’s dome hPeter’sehind the darkness, you will probably wonder if eating seven fishes is that important.
Buon Natale a tutti voi!
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