A feast that was originally celebrated by Italians has grown in popularity recently. So here’s where to celebrate the Feast of the Seven Fishes in Delaware.
A state and region known for it’s seafood, its no surprise that finding great fish dishes in Delaware won’t be hard.
So where does this tradition come from?
According to Eataly “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: in fact, the seven seems repeated more than 700 times in the Bible. Also, according to the Roman Catholic Church, seven are the sacraments, the days of the Creation, as well as the deadly sins. Hence seven courses!”
In the 1900’s Italian Americans revamped the tradition. They rekindled the Old Country’s Christmas Eve feast by preparing a seven course meal.
The best part of the Feast of the Seven fishes is that there’s really no set menu. Families can create their own unique traditions by curating their own fish menu.
Food Network has advice on creating your own Christmas Eve menus:
- It’s okay to serve small “tasting-size” portions of each dish. With this in mind, assume each recipe you make will serve 1 1/2 times as many people as it says: a recipe for 4 will serve 6; a recipe for 6 will serve 9; a recipe for 8 will serve 12.
- Plan for two or three courses to be cold or room temperature: there aren’t enough burners on the stove for seven.
- You don’t need a ton of side dishes; many of the fish dishes have one built in.
A feast that was originally celebrated by Italians has grown in popularity recently. So here’s where to celebrate the Feast of the Seven Fishes in Delaware:
(YELP’S Top 5 Seafood Restaurants in and around Wilmington, Delaware.)
