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24/12: The Feast of the 7 Fish / Festa dei Sette Pesci

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24/12: The Feast of the 7 Fish / Festa dei Sette Pesci

Postby Alexandria » Wed Oct 03, 2018 11:28 pm

The Feast of the Seven Fish ..

The Italian Festa dei Dette Pesci, also known as The Vigil, is a Christmas Eve (24 / 12) meal that originated in Sicily and Southern Italy in ancient times.

The abundance of seafood reflects the observance of abstienence from meat and dairy products until the Feast of Christmas Day, the 25th.

The symbolism of 7, has uncountable hypotheses for what the number 7 signifines.

The 7 Hills of Rome ..
The 7 Sacraments of the Roman Catholic Church ..
The 7th Day - Genesis 2.2

My paternal Grandfather is Italian and henceforth we combine a Catalan, Regional Spanish & Italian Christmas Eve Dinner at my parents condominium ..

The authentic traditions are:
1) Wild Fresh Cod or Baccalà ( Salt Cod )
2) Prawns
3) Calamari or Seppia ( Squid / Calamar )
4) Fresh Anchovies called Boquerones (Sautéed in Chickpea Flour )
5) Smoked Eel
6) Pasta Puttanesca with Anchovies (Salted Anchovies is the product ) and / or to pay homage to our Catalan Heritage, Shellfish Fideaù ( A type of Paella prepared with Vermicelli ) ..
7) Wholefish .. ( the fresh catch baked in oven in White Wine )

Over the years, my Mom has modernised the 7 small taster´s plates and incorporates a wide variety of seasonal shellfish, seafood and finned fish ..


In November, the film called The Feast of the Seven Fishes shall be released in Italy, starring Madison Iseman and Skyler Gisondo .. The book is available in English, and was written by: Robert Tinnell in 2005 .. It is a graphic novel of fascination ..

All our best for a healthy, fulfilling and prosperous 2019 ahead .. :thumbsup :thumbsup
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Re: 24/12: The Feast of the 7 Fish / Festa dei Sette Pesci

Postby jeral » Thu Oct 04, 2018 10:01 pm

Your traditional meal sounds lovely and I'm sure will be delicious.

Does your Mom enjoy cooking the same meal (albeit with variations) each year? Doesn't it drive her mad to have to make the same equivalent thing every year, even though traditional? Similarly to US cooks obliged to serve a roast turkey for every Thanksgiving.

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Re: 24/12: The Feast of the 7 Fish / Festa dei Sette Pesci

Postby Alexandria » Fri Oct 05, 2018 12:28 am

Jeral,

My mom, my two grandmothers and my mother in law never cook the same exact meal for Christmas Eve .. I mentioned this in my post .. Fideaù has a million variations of shellfish and seafood. :clap :clap

The products may be the same (seasonal) however, the recipes always vary and these dishes are a once a year "event" when we all get together under the same roof and celebrate Christmas .. It is a very special time in Spain ..

Surely it is similar for all those celebrating Christmas Eve whether it be a traditional Feast of 7 Fish or Roast Suckling Piglet, Roast Lamb or Roast Beef or Beef Wellington !!


I have never had a Thanksgiving Lunch in the Usa however, it is similar in the signifcance of being with special dear ones, and close friends who have no parents or are foreign and cannot travel abroad and enjoying the foods of their traditions ..


Night Night .. 12.30am here .. :wave
Barcelona, soulful & spirited, filled with fine art, amazing architecture, profoundly steeped in culture & history, and it engages all your senses, and food fancies.

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Re: 24/12: The Feast of the 7 Fish / Festa dei Sette Pesci

Postby Alexandria » Fri Oct 05, 2018 8:02 am

Jeral,

I wanted to add this ..

"Christmas is not only about eating ! And we never get bored or tired of the profound significance of getting together under the same roof a few times a year, and enjoying our precious time we spend together on Christmas Eve and other very very special holidays" regardless of who cooks the feast .. We all pitch in to assist where needed. My grandmothers, my grandfathers, my dad, my two sons and their wives, my 2 grandsons and my inlaws ..
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Re: 24/12: The Feast of the 7 Fish / Festa dei Sette Pesci

Postby Renee » Sat Oct 06, 2018 10:07 am

What a fascinating story, Member 461 and a wonderful meal!

I did experience a Thanksgiving meal with a difference whilst staying with friends in Chicago. We had just returned from sailing on Lake Michigan for three weeks, visiting several places. The meal had been ordered previously and collected from a supermarket on our return. It was in a cardboard box with everything inside! The turkey had been precooked and shrink-wrapped. It was actually surprisingly good, but not like home cooked of course!

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Re: 24/12: The Feast of the 7 Fish / Festa dei Sette Pesci

Postby Alexandria » Sat Oct 06, 2018 4:36 pm

Good Afternoon Renée,

It is a truly impeccably exquisite array of shellfish, octopus, seafood and of course, a seafood pasta / fideaù ..

However, the quintessential key is the gathering of our family on a prooundly sacred evening .. The reunion .. Not the shellfish which we eat all the time !!

Have a lovely day .. and weekend .. :wave :wave :wave
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Re: 24/12: The Feast of the 7 Fish / Festa dei Sette Pesci

Postby jeral » Sat Oct 06, 2018 11:42 pm

It is lovely when families can get together, on festival holiday occasions especially, not to mention that they're less likely to start arguing if met with good food and drink and have full tummies much of the time ;)

I don't know here how many celebrate with full family as "an occasion" on Christmas Eve, being more on the Day and Boxing Day. Probably not many for various practical reasons. Someone else might know if the Eve was ever a traditional gathering time here.

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Re: 24/12: The Feast of the 7 Fish / Festa dei Sette Pesci

Postby karadekoolaid » Sat Oct 06, 2018 11:51 pm

Family get-togethers are obligatory over here. Spanish, Italian, Portuguese (and Venezuelan) families ALWAYS get together on Xmas Eve and New Year´s Eve. Christmas Day is not such a popular celebration here - because most people have had a family get-together on the 24th - usually beginning around 9pm and continuing into the small hours.
For the past 30-odd years, I´ve always prepared a traditional British Xmas Lunch on the 25th, when we invite family and friends. No mince pies, no Xmas pud, mind you; the one time I served them, they went down like a wet weekend in Wimbledon :shock: So I make rhubarb crumble instead ( no apple pies; apples don´t exist here).

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Re: 24/12: The Feast of the 7 Fish / Festa dei Sette Pesci

Postby Alexandria » Sun Oct 07, 2018 12:09 am

Karakoolaide,

Very true about Mediterranean Latin families .. The quintessential is the gathering together to celebrate the the 24th and the 31st ..

The 25th, the 1st and the 6th ( The Epiphany ) are also very much celebrated family festive days ..


Have a lovely weekend ..
Barcelona, soulful & spirited, filled with fine art, amazing architecture, profoundly steeped in culture & history, and it engages all your senses, and food fancies.

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