The Thanksgiving plates were no sooner off the table when mom began thinking about Christmas and the family’s Christmas Eve celebration, which always featured 7 fish dishes.
The following is a excerpt from my most popular eBook – Gracie’s Christmas Eve Recipe Book – Night of the 7 Fishes. Many of you own a copy, but if you don’t it’s yours FREE this month just by subscribing to this site. The sign up form is located in the top right side bar.
From Gracie’s Christmas Eve Recipe Book – Night of the 7 Fishes
“As a child I never did understand why we had to eat fish on Christmas Eve and why there had to be seven different kinds. I was not a big fish fan as a kid and most of my cousins felt the same way. As the entire family gathered to celebrate we often made faces as Baccala and Mussels and Tilapia fillets adorned the table. We put up with this mainly because it was Christmas Eve and we didn’t want to upset the adults.
As we got older the tradition took on a new significance, especially since we learned to appreciate the many fish offerings our parents put before us.
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I did some research into the Seafood/Christmas Eve connection and came up with some reasoning behind the tradition. First off; the fish only on Christmas Eve is a custom mainly in the southern part of Italy and especially in Sicily. Northern Italians rarely celebrated the Eve in this fashion
The fish only deal has more to do with politics than with preference. Like the old ritual of meatless Fridays, the reasoning is pretty much the same. You see sometime in the early centuries of Catholicism, pressure was placed on the Vatican to recognize the plight of fishermen and the significance they played in the new testament. In order to provide an economic lift to this industry, one day a week (Friday) was set aside to abstain from meat. Translation, eat fish. That same pressure was later added to Christmas Eve.
Another school of thought has it that since Christmas Eve is the evening before a holy day, abstaining from meat is expected. Again, very big in the Southern part of Italy where, you guessed it, fishing was and still is a huge industry.
So why 7 fishes and not 5 or 9 or 11. Indeed many regions do celebrate with different numbers but 7 is the most common. Reasons vary from 7 days in the week, to 7 days of creation to the 7 sacraments. Whatever the reason, Christmas Eve for many Italians is indeed special and enjoyed by eating fish.
With “Gracie’s Christmas Eve Recipe Book – Night of the Seven Fishes ,” we share with you some fantastic seafood selections, that are good not only on the holiday but year round. We also talk about some wonderful memories of how we made the Night of Seven Fishes special.”
Here’s a recipe that didn’t make the book. Buon Appitito!
Lemon Garlic Marinated Shrimp:
Gracie loved shrimp and when she took the reigns at Christmas Eve you could bet there was at least 2 shrimp dishes. She would have loved this one from www.eatingwell.com.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons minced garlic
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 1/4 pounds cooked shrimp
Preparation
- Place garlic and oil in a small skillet and cook over medium heat until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add lemon juice, parsley, salt and pepper. Toss with shrimp in a large bowl. Chill until ready to serve.
Tips & Notes
- Make Ahead Tip: Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 hours.
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