Make Sure You Say It the Correct Way in Italian

I love Italian moms! They are outspoken, opinionated, forces to be reckoned with, but they love with all of their heart and soul.

Now to say they love and protect their families with the same ferocity a lioness has over her cubs, well that is an understatement. Do not confuse that quality with personality. To say that these moms are demure and quiet wallflowers—not so much. I would not have it any other way. So with that being said, I need to share something with all of you.

I was telling Ma (because almost all Italian kids call their mothers Ma) that I was going to blog about my favorite holiday—Christmas Eve. She promptly interrupted me and said “make sure you tell them how to say it in Italian.”

Forget the rest of the conversation and what else I had to say—that was not important. No, I needed to know the linguistics and syntax of the Italian dialect and specifically how it relates to the holiday. And yes, I needed to know it at that exact moment. So Ma began a small impromptu lecture on the correct way to exchange holiday greetings and proper holiday titles in Italian.

With that background information, let me begin to tell you about my favorite part of the holiday season and the proper spelling of it (this is for you Ma)—La Vigilia di Natale.

Christmas (il Natale)—I have always enjoyed this part of the year. I love, love, love it—the music, the shopping and all of the chaos that the season brings. I become bouncy with enthusiasm at the thoughts of the foods that come out for the holidays.

The pinnacle of this holiday season for my family is what is known as the Feast of the Seven Fishes or simply known as La Vigilia (The Vigil).

Now before I go on to explain this holiday, please know that many Italian- Americans celebrate La Vigilia (The Vigil). My understanding is that it is not a widely-celebrated holiday in Italy. It is mainly an Italian-American tradition.

Other ethnic groups have a similar tradition of a meatless Christmas Eve dinners, however I am only familiar with the Italian-American version.

The Feast of the Seven Fishes is celebrated on Christmas Eve and it is believed to have originated areas south of Rome and in southern Italy. It is a feast that typically consists of seven different seafood dishes. There is some controversy about the number of fish dishes served—the numbers have a religious significance to them. For example, the number seven relates the number of Sacraments in the Catholic church. This dinner is a commemoration for the waiting and for the birth of Jesus.

In our house we mix up the dishes—there is combination of traditional family recipes and more contemporary ones. The rule in our house is seven fishes or five dishes. Do I make a list and make sure that there are seven different fishes represented at the dinner? You bet I do. If not then the malocchio (bad luck/evil eye) will come to the dinner and food. If you don’t believe me, just ask Ma!

It is a dinner with five courses—antipasti (appetizers) and salad (insalata), soup (zuppa), pasta (primi piatti), main course (secondi piatti) and desserts (dolci). 

Our family and friends gather for dinner on Christmas Eve. We sit around that night enjoying the fruits of our labors. Dining on delights like Baccala (cod) salad, Italian Tuna with Crostini, Baccala (cod) Stew with Seafood Puffs (crispella), Fettuccine with Smelt Sauce, Linguini with Clam Sauce, Baked Stuffed Shrimp, Fried Smelts and finishing up with a tray of various biscotti and Italian traditional cookies with strong Italian coffee and Sambuca.

To say that it is an undertaking to pull off this holiday, that is an understatement. Am I tired the next day? Does my house smell like a fish market and does my kitchen look like disaster? Yes, it does. Have I provided my family and friends with memories that last a life time? Yes, I have.

I am thankful that this holiday only comes once a year—I need the rest of the year to recuperate.

Buon Natale (Merry Christmas).