If you think the holidays call for an extravagant meal to be shared with loved ones, the Feast of the Seven Fishes will not disappoint. This Italian-American culinary celebration occurs every Christmas Eve and involves cooking seven different types of fish and seafood. In the early 1900s, the feast was created as a way for families to partake in the Roman Catholic tradition of abstaining from meat on the eve of certain holidays.

“Most people don’t realize that the Feast of the Seven Fishes is an Italian-American food tradition and practice not heard of in Italy itself,” Jessica Botta, chef-instructor of Culinary Arts at the Institute of Culinary Education, explains to First for Women. “[However], many Italians do, of course, eat fish on Christmas Eve (known as the Vigilia), because of the Catholic tradition of fasting and avoiding meat.”