The Feast of the Seven Fishes is part of the Italian-American Christmas Eve celebration, although it is not called that in Italy and is not a “feast” in the sense of “holiday,” but rather a grand meal.

While the tradition comes from Southern Italy, many from the region have never heard of the Feast of Seven Fishes. Italians call it by another name, La Vigilia (The Vigil), as it takes place on Christmas Eve, or the Vigilia di Natale. The practice of eating fish on Christmas Eve stems from a traditional Catholic custom of abstaining from meat on the eve of a feast day.

It is also unclear when the number seven was landed on. In the Italian tradition they don’t count how many fishes are used, or how many dishes they create. Even in America it is not unusual to see the spread feature up to 13 varieties of aquatic aliment.

While some sources suggest restaurants developed the tradition of seven fishes, it is fitting for the occasion, as the number 7 is an important to Catholicism, signifying totality of perfection and completeness. Seven is mentioned over 700 times in the Bible and it is seen in the number of the days of the week, the Sacraments, and many of the signs in the Book of Revelation: seven churches, seven bowls, seven seals, seven trumpets, seven thunders and seven spirits.

If you’d like to celebrate this early, Carrabba’s Italian Grill is making it easy for guests to celebrate the Feast of 7 Fishes, an Italian holiday celebration, by offering an indulgent five-course feast experience on Wednesday, December 19^th at 6:30 p. Guests at Carrabba’s restaurants nationwide can enjoy paired wines with their five-course menu for $50 per person.

The five-course menu includes:

CALAMARI