our southern Italy Christmas Eve traditions via Dino

"The Feast of the Seven Fishes (festa dei sette pesci), celebrated on
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_Eve> Christmas Eve, also known as
The Vigil (La Vigilia), is believed to have originated in
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Italy> Southern Italy and is not a
known tradition in many parts of  <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italy>
Italy. Today, it is a feast that typically consists of seven different
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seafood> seafood dishes. However, some
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_American> Italian-American families
have been known to celebrate with nine, eleven or thirteen different seafood
dishes. This celebration commemorates the wait,
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_worldwide#Italy> Vigilia di Natale,
for the midnight birth of the baby  <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus>
Jesus.

The long tradition of eating seafood on Christmas Eve dates from the
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Catholic> Roman Catholic tradition of
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fasting_and_abstinence_in_the_Roman_Catholic_C
hurch> abstinence - in this case, refraining from the consumption of meat or
milk products - on Fridays, during  <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lent>
Lent, and on the eve of specific holy days. As no meat or butter could be
used on such days, observant Catholics would instead eat fish, typically
fried in oil.

The "Feast of the Seven Fishes", a celebration of Christmas Eve with meals
of fish and seafood, but there may be seven, eight, or even nine specific
fishes that are considered traditional. The most famous dish Southern
Italians are known for is  <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baccal%C3%A0>
baccalà (salted cod fish). Reasons for celebrating with such a simple fish
as baccalà is attributed to the greatly impoverished regions of Southern
Italy. Fried  <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smelt_(fish)> smelts,
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calamari> calamari and other types of seafood
have been incorporated into the Christmas Eve dinner over the years.

The Midday ( Il Mezzogiorno) a wide geographical, historical and cultural
area used to indicate the southern half of the
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italy> Italian state, encompassing the
southern section of the  <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_Peninsula>
Italian Peninsula and the two major islands of
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicily> Sicily and
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sardinia> Sardinia. It coincides with the
regions of  <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilicata> Basilicata,
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campania> Campania,
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calabria> Calabria,
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apulia> Apulia,
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molise> Molise,
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abruzzo> Abruzzo,
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicily> Sicily, and
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sardinia> Sardinia.

Pa Chay Benny,  Ciao e Buon Natale