Source: Atlas Obscura
On the night before Christmas, some people are preparing and decorating Christmas cookies, while others are readying a “roast beast” for the oven. But for Italian-Americans, cooking up the right supper can be a bit fishy. While the precise origins of the tradition are not clear, the Feast of the Seven Fishes, also referred to as La Vigilia, honors Italian-Catholic traditions of eating lean, or magro, in preparation for Christmas holiday feasting. Still, it’s difficult to say that this hours-long meal is anything but indulgent.
Though connected with various Christmas Eve celebrations across Italy, the Feast of the Seven Fishes is decidedly an Italian-American invention that stems from the early 20th century. During these peak years…
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