By Merle Exit

The Feast of the Seven Fishes (festa dei sette pesci), celebrated on Christmas Eve and also known as The Vigil (La Vigilia), is believed to have originated in southern Italy.

The long tradition of eating seafood on Christmas Eve dates from the Roman Catholic tradition of abstinence which, in this case, meant refraining from the consumption of meat or milk products on the eve of holy days. As no meat or butter could be used on such days, observant Catholics would instead eat fish, typically fried in oil.

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Source: http://www.timesledger.com/