We had a cioppino feast when we lived near Monterey, but now that we are in Pennsylvania, things are different. Christmas Eve is my grandson's birthday (he'll be 14 YIKES!), and he loves seafood. And his parents want to take him out. They've been to Joe's Crab Shack for a few years (not my favorite), but the local one closed last year. So this year it will be Benihana, and yes, we will all be ordering some combination of seafood.

Your menu is certainly ambitious for someone who's recovering from surgery! And it sounds delicious!

(Oh, and we are not Italian!)

My Italian sister in law always has lots of seafood on Christmas Eve. I really don't eat fish, so we won't. I enjoy seeing her fishy spread on Facebook where I don't smell it :-)

I had never heard of that tradition.

My families tradition growing up was to open presents on Christmas Eve and then to celebrate 'Little Christmas' with a smaller round of gifts on January 6th when the wise men showed up. Apparently, that is a German tradition.

We are very far from Italian, but ever since my husband heard of the idea, he loves it. Appetizers: bacon wrapped scallops, roasted shrimp cocktail, lobster salad, crab dip and if the shrimp are fresh enough, agua chiles. Then baked haddock and clam chowder for dinner. Not everyone likes everything, but we will also serve Mac and cheese (spirals!) and chicken nuggets. Hope everyone enjoys a lovely Christmas Eve!

Sushi, things may well drop out of the plan as the day progresses.

For Solstice, I did pan seared duck breast, and dumped it over sliced apple, roasting it in the oven for 20 minutes while I rested. Definitely a cut back from plans. Most complicated thing I've made since returning home.

my family has celebrated this tradition well over 100 years., brought over from Abruzzo, Italy...

its the only Christmas Eve i have ever known.

menu when i was little: shrimp cocktail, pasta with stuffed calamari in red gravy, pasta with anchovies aioli, flounder, baccala, eel, smelts

now: shrimp cocktail, pasta with stuffed calamari in red gravy, baked salmon, crab imperial, sautéed scallops, clams casino, smelts....

served as a 3 course meal. shrimp cocktail first, pasta second and remaining fish, big salad, sautéed savoy cabbage, stuffed artichokes & garlic bread last!

i don't know what generation we are now, 6th 7th?, came down through my mother's side. definitely from the 1800's...all i know is we all continue to do it, look forward to it and enjoy it thoroughly!!! and of course lots of wine!!!

finish with cannolis, red velvet cake, homemade cookies, pizzelles and sometimes tiramisu.

I'm not familiar with this tradition.

We eat very little fish.

Happy Holidays to you and your family!

My Italian MIL always served seafood on Christmas Eve. I’m not wild about seafood but I’d eat this and that- there was always plenty of food. There was always antipasto salad, clams casino, pasta with anchovy sauce ( can’t think of the name of that right now),and fried smelts. In 1992 I was pregnant with baby due any time the pasta with anchovy sauce caught my eye I always ate a little but that year I just couldn’t get enough. I ate 3 bowls. Later that night, back at home I went into labor! I always joked that’s what finally got things going on my due date. The week before, I took a 3 mile walk hoping the baby would come.

Artemis, that sounds like a wonderful menu for the day. Enjoy your holiday and continue to heal. TFS

Wikipedia suggests that this "Feast" doesn't come from the old country at all, saying it is an Italian American tradition that developed on this side of the Atlantic. Who knows for sure?

Is there a meaning behind it? Why fish? Oyster stew is a tradition I hear about often. My mom attempted it once and we all gagged. It was something my dad's family did when he was growing up. Even he admitted the walk down memory lane was not worth the trip. My mom was not known for her cooking. LOL.

My friend that we were staying with is from Sicily. Her family in Italy has been doing this for generations. I don't think this is an American thing. She was born in Italy and she lived there for a while before moving to America and her family was following the seafood feast tradition long before she was born. Generations before.

Arcy this is the explanation I found.

MENU

DECEMBER 9, 2017

FEAST OF THE SEVEN FISHES

Some of the most delicious traditions come from Italian homes during the holidays. Although Italians always seem to take an interest in food particularly during the numerous holidays throughout the year, at Christmas, food always seems to become a priority. Apart from the many religious traditions, this is the time each year when celebration foods are prepared and families gather together to enjoy this special season. One of the most famous traditions followed each Christmas is the one for La Vigilia, or the Feast Of Seven Fishes which is celebrated on Christmas Eve.

The tradition of eating seafood on Christmas Eve dates from the medieval Catholic tradition of abstinence, or in this case, refraining from the consumption of meat or milk products on Fridays and specific holy days. As no meat or butter could be used, observant Catholics would instead eat fish, often fried in olive oil.

http://www.italianfoodforever.com/2017/12/feast-of-the-seven-fishes/

I know that seafood at Christmas is a tradition in many southern European regions, just as fish and game (duck, venison, lutefisk etc) are in parts of Northern Europe. People ate what was seasonally available and that's the origin of the traditions. In olden times people couldn't hardly start a tradition of having a particular food at Christmas or other year end festival that was not available in December.

Wikipedia is the "power of the people" in action. If the article on this topic, specifically on it being a "festival", is wrong, any of you so certain about how you see it should change it. I wasn't certain, which was why I said "who knows".

(why do so many think that citing unauthoritative websites that represent an anonymous person's opinion or unreferenced understanding is meaningful? It's the 21st century version of "if it's in the newspaper, it must be right". Not.)