Christmas Eve and the Feast of Seven Fishes

My dad was born in Lettomanoppello, a little hillside town in the province of Pescara, Abruzzo, Italy.  He came to the United States with his mother, sister and brother when he was 4 years old, to join his father, who had immigrated several years earlier to Uxbridge, MA.

One of the Italian traditions that I grew up with was a family Christmas Eve celebration called La Vigilia di Natale (Christmas Vigil) , or  Feast of  Seven Fishes.  For many years, my Grandma, the family matriarch, hosted the celebration at her small house, but as the family grew the evening festivities moved to my family's home. We never called it the Feast of Seven Fishes -  I actually never heard that name until a few years ago - but the meal was always meatless and full of seafood dishes that we only ate on that night....  tuna spaghetti, anchovy spaghetti, baccala,  calamari, fried smelts. The number isn't really important... just the fact that Christmas Eve means family and fish!   The menu was unchanging for for years and years, but recently new dishes have found their way onto the menu.... sushi ( !! ), stuffed mushrooms,  homemade pizza,  scallops.  Since we live too far away to join the extended family on Christmas Eve, I have continued the tradition with my own family, so my children will have an appreciation for their Italian heritage.

On the menu this year:

Crab-stuffed Mushrooms
 Bruschetta

Tuna Spaghetti

Linguini with white clam sauce

Shrimp Scampi Bake over angel hair

fried calamari

Batter-fried Baccala

Green salad

Garlic bread sticks

Tiramisu Cupcakes
Pizzelles
White Chocolate-Cranberry Biscotti