Tag Archives: christmas

The Feast of the Seven Fishes

The Feast of the Seven Fishes is an Italian American Christmas Eve celebration. J’s family has been celebrating with this feast just for the past few years, and he says it allows them to connect with their culture and ethnic community. In accordance with online descriptions of the grand meal, the “essentially have a dinner party with 7 different fish cooked into the dishes.”

According to Eataly, the tradition was started by Italian immigrants in the U.S. in the early 1900s and while the exact origins/meanings are difficult to trace, “the ancient tradition of eating fish on Christmas Eve dates from the Roman Catholic custom of abstinence from meat and dairy products on the eve of certain holidays, including Christmas. The number seven is rooted back in ancient times and it can be connected to multiple Catholic symbols…” Therefore, like for J’s family, one can presume that both the meals and symbolism present were reminiscent of “home” for early participants in the Feast.

He believes it to be a celebration of abundance and the “being better off” that comes with immigrating to the U.S. as well as a ritualistic acknowledgement by Italian Americans of their cultural history and the sacrifices and hard work of their ancestors.

Big Bear Ritual

Informant: N.N

Nationality: American

Primary Language: English

Other Language(s): N/A

Age: 19

Occupation: Student

Residence: Burbank, CA

Performance Date: 04/26/2024

N.N is 19 years old and is from Burbank, CA. I am close friends with his brother, so N.N is an acquaintance of mine. I asked him if there are any festivals or rituals he participates in regularly. He tells me about the yearly ritual his family does, in celebration of Christmas and December Break. 

“Every December, once school’s out, my family heads up to Big Bear and we stay there for like a week. We started this whole thing about four years ago when my uncle, who’s pretty much obsessed with snowboarding, thought it’d be a great idea for us to get together and hit the slopes. So, my mom would rent an Airbnb, and we’d spend our winter break snowboarding as much as we can. It’s pretty fun. My cousins E. and M. were just getting old enough to enjoy the trip, so my uncle figured it was the perfect time to start. I interpret this yearly celebration as a way for our family to just enjoy winter break and Christmas together in a way that’s unique to us. I really like it and I hope we keep doing this for a long time.”

Their December snowboarding trip also coincides with the Christmas season, which I think adds value to the family bonding experience. Since I know them personally, I know that they are a family that is super active and always into sports so this was probably a creative way to incorporate their hobby into a celebration. For them, Christmas is a time that’s associated with family and togetherness. Even though they aren’t Christian, they celebrate Christmas as a way to get closer and show appreciation for one another. I think that by integrating their holiday celebrations with this active tradition, it allows them to have core memories and stronger relationships since they have a shared experience. Their tendency to make it a tradition also shows how they have celebrated many traditions / rituals before that is personalized to their interests.

Presenting Christmas

Text:
The informant’s family opens all presents from non-immediate family on Christmas eve, while the presents from immediate family are saved for Christmas Day. On Christmas day these presents are only opened after the informant’s mother reads the Christmas story aloud.

Context:
The informant thinks that the presents of immediate family being saved for Christmas is because it’s more exciting to see people open gifts that you gave them and hear what they think than it is to see them open presents from other people, so it’s saving the most fun for the most special day. As for the Christmas story reading, he thinks that’s to prioritize and reinforce that it’s the celebration of Christianity and Jesus’ birth, not just a random holiday.

Analysis:
I think the informant is correct with all of his analysis, but that there is an extra layer to saving the immediate family’s presents for Christmas day, and that is to emphasize the importance of one’s family a little more than any other friends or relatives.

Stocking Up On Coffee

Text:
Every Christmas, the informant’s mom will fill his stocking up with snacks and food, and always some canned coldbrew coffee that she left in the fridge overnight, then put in his stocking early that morning.

Context:
The informant and his mom are both foodies, so this is something they can bond over. He specifically really likes coffee, especially cold brew, but it can take some time to make, and is usually harder to find or get. Having it in his stocking that morning is also a practical convenience because if he wants coffee, they don’t need to spend a lot of time making it or finding a cafe that is open and has it.

Analysis:
This is something that I would consider more to be the start of folklore if it continues than full fledged folklore at the moment, but I felt it was too cool and sweet of a thing not to include in my posts. It’s a cool way to celebrate your loved ones by giving them a gift that fits their interests, and doing anything consistently makes it even more special, as it becomes something that can be relied on, which is comforting.

Feast of the 7 Fishes

Text:
Around Christmastime, his family will have a dinner party they invite family and friends to called the Feast of 7 Fishes. They will play Italian music and, among other celebratory little decorations, make a menu of the dishes that will be had at dinner. These dishes will have a total of 7 types of fish/seafood spread throughout them.

Context:
The informant’s Grandmother on his mother’s side passed away a few years ago. She was a first generation Italian immigrant who was very proud of being Italian. His mother has recently been looking to connect with her Italian side more. One of the ways she is doing this is by celebrating the feast of 7 fishes, which is a tradition of early italian immigrants to the Americas. They were celebrating how much more fortunate/wealthy they were in America than they had been in Italy, and found that they could afford to eat seven fish at christmastime, not just one like they had been limited to back in Italy.

Analysis:
I think the informant’s analysis of the original festival- the feast of the 7 fishes- is accurate, mainly celebrating newfound wealth and good fortune. It also is a celebration at Christmastime which, for Christians (and many Italians were Christian), is a time of being grateful for what God has given them. This gratitude centers on him sending his son, Jesus, to earth, but definitely is a time to be grateful to him in general, which would include good fortune and newfound wealth. I think there is another layer to why his mother has recently found this desire to deepen her connection to her Italian side, however, and that is to feel a deeper connection to her own recently deceased mother, as well as to respect her by starting to cherish something she cherished.