Anthony Forcinito
December 15, 1998
AMST 205 Final Paper

Feast of the 7 Fishes

A dinner, in many ways, is much more than just a meal. It is a collaboration of food, loved ones, and tradition. Charles Camp says, “The attention given to replicating a given event is in some measure a rhetorical tribute to the meaning of the antecedent”(56). An Italian Christmas Eve dinner holds a special place in many families’ hearts because it only takes place once a year. Also, it is a way to remember the past, the many traditions, and how things used to be.

The Italian Christmas Eve dinner is commonly referred to as The Feast of the Seven Fishes. It holds an important place in many families’ hearts because it is not only a time to eat great food, but it is a time to spend with loved ones. “Italian Americans prefer to see themselves as lovers of life, good food, and strong family ties. Studies show that Italian Americans are more likely than other Americans to live close to their relatives and to socialize with them regularly. Italian Americans value holiday customs that set them apart from other Americans”(Gabaccia). Because of this, Christmas Eve was a day that the family would always set aside to get together and uphold a long standing tradition.

Feast of the Seven Fishes is a Sicilian custom, although many Italian families who are not Sicilian celebrate it also. This is because of the marriage of Sicilians with other Italians who originated from different areas of Italy. “That’s an old Italian custom for people who live by the ocean. My parents came from a small fishing village on the Adriatic called Bisceglie. We always had a feast of seven fish dishes on Christmas Eve. It was as much a part of the holiday season as San Nicola”(Claiborne). In my father’s family, this tradition was not carried out until his cousin Arlene was married to a person of Sicilian descent. Of course, they still all knew how to cook the foods contained in the dinner, but the actual meal did not take place until Joe Polito brought it to our family. “I was talking to Arlene today. She told me that the fish dinner is a Sicilian (Southern Italy) tradition that my family did not adopt until after Arlene was married to Joe, whose parents were of Sicilian descent. (In Italy, different regions have different traditions and customs, just like the US) That explains why I do not remember these dinners as a child, but only as a teenager, because Arlene was married then”(Forcinito, Joseph). Ever since the custom was brought to the Forcinito and Sica families, it has been passed on to children and grandchildren, and hopefully, soon it will be passed to great- grandchildren. Over the years, however, my family has changed the way we celebrate this “feast”.

When my father was a teenager, The Feast of the Seven Fishes was celebrated in its full splendor. “The ‘feast’ would begin around 5:00 PM on Christmas Eve with the eating of the fish salad, also known as Fruit of the Sea, as translated into English from Italian. My Uncle Jim used to make the salad several days earlier using pounds and pounds of shrimp, lobster, Calamari, squid, and crab meat, with plenty of parsley, garlic, lemon, celery, and a little white wine. My father would bring the Italian bread--many loaves”(Forcinito, J).

The family would partake of the great meal in the basement of my Father’s cousin’s house, because there was not enough room for all of the people or food on the first floor. They would line up the tables and chairs and the entire family (anywhere from 15-30 people depending on the year) would enjoy this meal sit-down style. Although, according to my father, it was not as civilized as it may sound. “I remember when the salad was put on the table, along with the pounds of roasted peppers that my mother had prepared, my cousin Jimmy and my former cousin Joe Polito would dig into the serving bowl as if the end of the world was coming. Sadly, there was no mention of prayer or giving thanks--if you dared getting in Jimmy’s path, he was capable of eating your arm off”(Forcinito, J). This first course was called the “Antipasto”. It included the fish salad containing five different fishes, Bacula in which my grandmother made, and eels for good luck. These were the seven fishes for my family. I must point out, however, that many families celebrate this differently, and the seven fishes for one family may not be the same as another. For example, a family mentioned in a New York Times article on the feast, celebrate a bit differently. “Every year, Ed Giobbi, the artist and cookbook author serves a holiday feast of seven fish dishes (seven for the seven sacraments). Each dish is cooked in a different manner--broiled, fried, baked and so on--or uses a different main ingredient. There is generally a fish or seafood salad, and inevitably, pasta served with a seafood sauce”(Claiborne, C1).

After this first course, the linguine in a light red sauce with crabs and calimari was brought out. This was said to be my grandmother’s specialty, and she took great pride in preparing it for her family. Also included in this second course was macaroni and clams. “By the time the linguine was devoured it was about 9:00 PM. By then, my cousin Jimmy was already complaining of a belly ache, the cause of which was his excessive eating”(Forcinito, J). So, they took a break for a little while. Then, the third course was served; it was made up of different fried fishes. “This included fried shrimp, flounder, scallops, in addition to boiled lobster tails”(Forcinito, J).

After the first three courses, there would be some time to digest all the delicious food. Some of the family, mostly the men, would go upstairs to the first floor and watch television and talk (they had plenty of white wine in them by then, so conversation flowed freely). The women, mainly my Grandmother, Arlene, and my Aunt Louise (Arlene’s mother), would stay downstairs and begin to prepare the coffee and desserts. “After relaxing for a while, we would serve the desserts. They were unbelievable--Canolies, and any other Italian pastries and cookies you can think of. It was like a Venetian hour at a party. It was just incredible”(Polito, Arlene).

Arlene then went on to explain that the reason they eat fish on Christmas Eve had a very religious origin. Traditionally, Catholics were not supposed to eat meat on Christmas Eve, so as a result, the Christmas Eve dinner became a feast of fishes. However, this feast did not only include fish, because when midnight came, it was no longer Christmas Eve. So, after dessert was over and cleaned up, the ladies began to prepare the meat, the fifth and final course of this wonderful dinner. While some members of the family attended midnight mass at this time, others stayed back to digest and make room for more food. When everyone was back at Arlene’s house, the meat, usually ham, was served along with sausage and peppers. This concluded the eating portion of the day, but as Arlene, my father, and my uncle pointed out, this was not the end of the “feast” at all.

The Feast of the Seven Fishes meant a lot more than just food to my family, it meant bonding with people they cared about. This was one of the only times during the year when this could be done. My grandparents, along with my father and uncle Carmine, would stay over Arlene’s house for the entire week. “Others would come for Christmas Eve and Christmas day, and they would stop in and out during the week. Uncle Ralph and his family, Jimmyboy and his family, sometimes Uncle Jack, and my mother-in-law’s side--they would all come. Everyone was always welcome, but sometimes I couldn’t wait for them to send me to the store so I could get the hell out of there for a while [kiddingly]!”(Polito). I could tell when I was talking to Arlene on the phone that this dinner was very important to her--perhaps the most important of the year. “We used to have a lot of fun though--it was a lot of fun. The kids would be upstairs running around with the toys, playing. From Christmas Eve it used to go on for days.. all week long--it was a week of festivities. People would come in and out all week long, laughing, kidding around; it was marvelous, just marvelous”(Polito).

My Uncle Carmine was in his lower teens when he used to celebrate the Feast of the Seven Fishes with my family, and he felt the same way about it. It was a time of family being together and connecting, forming attachments to one another. “What I will always remember is how we all got together days before and started preparations of the meal. It was always good times, everyone got involved”(Forcinito, Carmine). My father also fondly remembers the times he had as a child spent with his family. “I have some wonderful memories of Christmas Eve. Most of them revolve around a loving family, though some are not so good, as my mother, Arlene, and Aunt Lou worked like dogs to serve all the food. But, they enjoyed doing that”(Forcinito, J).

Over the years, the Feast of the Seven Fishes tradition has changed in my family, but the main elements of it are still present. It has always been very important to my father that this tradition is kept with us, even more since the passing away of his parents. “My mother tried to carry the tradition on to mom’s family-but it got to be too much for grandma to do as she got older and became ill”(Forcinito, J).

In my house, we usually have a lot less people, just my immediate family. Occasionally, however, my mother’s parents or my uncle’s family will come for dinner. Our traditional meal consists of four courses and begins around 1:00 PM. Each year, before we start eating, my father will say a prayer thanking for the food, and remembering his parents and other family members who have since passed on, who gave us the tradition. We first have the antipasto, which includes an array of different cheeses, cold cut ham, and breads. Also served are olives, fresh mozzarella, and roasted peppers. One big change since my father was a kid is that in my house, he does all of the cooking. This is because he not only thinks of this dinner as a way of remembering his culture, but he thinks of it as a way to honor his parents, especially his mother who toiled for so many years cooking this meal.

Our second course is a linguine with marinara sauce. We will begin eating this at around 2:00 PM. Of course, the third course is the fried fish. Usually, scallops, flounder, and shrimp are served. Then at around 6:00 PM, my whole family will go to church and when we return, we have the final course, dessert. It is not as elaborate as it was back when my father was younger, but it is still quite a presentation.

In conclusion, my family’s Christmas Eve dinner today does not consist of a seven fish salad, or even seven types of fried fish. In fact, there are usually only three types of fish served. The reason this dinner is so significant to my family and so many others is not because we eat seven fishes or no fish, it is because it represents to us our families, and the past. It exemplifies the love shared, and the time and energy spent toiling for those we care about most. It also signifies the future and the passing on of traditions from generation to generation.

Museum Exhibition

Feast of the seven fishes is not only a meal, but it is an experience. Therefore, in representing it to the public, my ultimate goal would be to give the viewers a sense of what it was actually like for the family. I would want them to realize that the reason Feast of the Seven Fishes is so special is because it is a time spent with loved ones. Also, because this meal may not be the same for every family who celebrates it, I will concentrate on one specific family for the exhibit. There is not time limit for the exhibit to be up, but preferably, it would run during the holiday season. In order to accurately portray what Feast of the Seven Fishes was like for my family, there would be several parts to the exhibit.

The viewer would walk in to a large, rectangular room, no bigger than an average living and dining room. For the most part, the room would be set up exactly like it looks on the day of the feast. There would be a table in the center, with ten places set at it, and a lot of food. This food would not be real, but tremendous detail would be put into it, so it would look like the real thing. Because the model would represent a frozen moment of time, it would be impossible to change the table for the courses, so instead, all of the food would be out at once. However, the different foods from the different courses would be separated into sections and placed accordingly on the table.

This exhibit would represent the dinner the way my family used to celebrate it back when my father was a teenager, therefore there would be many place settings, each looking a bit different. The first course, the antipasto, would be at the far end of the table, as shown in the diagram. Two of the ten plates would be set with the foods from this wonderful fish salad. The second course is the pasta and that is located next in line down the table. The table is set accordingly, with the third course, the fourth, and finally, the fifth course located by the entrance and exit.

When these foods are placed on a table at an actual dinner, they truly look spectacular. In order for the viewers to grasp how wonderful the food is, it would need to look as realistic as possible. Since there are five courses and ten places set at the table, each course is displayed on two plates. Naturally, the people sitting at those places would be eating the course at their spot.

As I discussed earlier, with Feast of the Seven Fishes, the people are just as important as the food. They would be high quality wax sculptures, and would be placed in sitting positions at the table. The sculptures, however, will each be doing different things; they would be in the middle of an action, not just in a neutral position. For example, the person at the head of the table would have his wine glass up in the air, as if he were making a toast. The next person might be in the process of serving a healthy portion of the fish salad to herself. A third person might be eating their fish salad while the person next to them begins to serve himself some pasta (this would be from the second course). In actuality, the people will be eating the entire dinner together; they would however, be representing the different courses, and actions that go along with the tradition. The purpose of this is to deal with the restriction that museum exhibitions place upon the curator; this restriction being having to choose one moment in time to freeze. Having the different people eating distinct courses would help to overcome this barrier.

Another obstacle that must be overcome in this exhibit is the fact that wax sculptures have no personality. There would be expressions on their faces, but I do not feel that this would be enough to get the full effect across. After all, the main purpose of this exhibit is to convey the sense of family that these people have, and to make the viewer realize that they are not only partaking of a meal, but they are sharing stories, and making people laugh. In order to best depict this to the viewers, there will be a series of three wall exhibits. They will be located on every wall, except for the one with the entrance and exit.

The first wall exhibit would be the most elaborate and most critical to the understanding of the people. It would contain a series of profiles of each participant in the Feast of the Seven Fishes when it was first begun in my family. The profiles would briefly describe the life of each person, including profession, family, and values. It would also include a brief description of the personality; for example, whether or not this person is outgoing and funny, or a quiet and sensitive soul. Lastly, if the person being profiled is still alive, there would be an account of where they are now, what they are doing, and whether they still keep in touch with the family. The main purpose of these profiles is so that when the viewer looks at the wax people, they do not see “just another person,” but they see who that person is. My goal is that people looking at this exhibition can feel the same way about the Feast as I do, mainly because I know the people and what they are like.

The people to be profiled will be Uncle Jim, Aunt Lou, Arlene, my grandmother (Helen Forcinito), my grandfather (Anthony S. Forcinito), my father (Joseph Forcinito), my uncle (Carmine Forcinito), Jimmyboy, Uncle Ralph, and Tommy Sica (my father’s cousin). These are the main people that participated in the dinner when my father was a teenager. This portion would also include a profile of my mother (who learned all of the traditions), and me (a participant in Feast of the Seven Fishes today). Even though we will not be located at the table with the wax sculptures, I feel that we should be included in the profiles because we represent how this tradition has been passed on.

The look of this wall exhibit will be very colorful and alive. After all, these people were extremely colorful and alive, especially since wine was a prominent feature of the meal. All of the profiles would be centered around a big family tree, showing where everyone came from. It would start at my great grandparents, the Sica’s, my grandmother’s parents. The family tree will be a focal point for the eyes, because I want the viewers to keep coming back to it for reference. The profiles will be backed with different colored papers in order to make each one look unique, interesting, and to make the viewers subconsciously want to look at them.

The second wall exhibit will be located on the wall opposite of the entrance and exit. It will concentrate on the foods served and what went into preparing them. There would be recipes included, along with some pictures of the dish as it is being prepared, and when it is finished. This would also be arranged by courses, having the fish salad at one side and the meats at the other. This portion of the exhibit would emphasize the many hours and sometimes days that went into preparing many of these foods. It would also tell who in my family prepared the dish.

And finally, the third wall exhibit will be located on the wall adjacent to the exit. This would concentrate on the differences between how some families celebrate the Feast. Basically, it would contain pictures of the seven different fried fishes often served, and other foods that are characteristic of this meal. It would also include descriptions of the scenes in different homes, including my own home, where now, the dinner is a much quieter occasion. It would also contain some information on how the time people celebrate the dinner vary, because of different reasons.

My goal for the entire exhibition if for the viewers to keep going back and forth, from the table, to the wall exhibits, to the family tree. I want them to feel as if they know the people at the table, and as if they can talk about them. For example, if they see that one member of the family at the table looks distressed, they will be able to go to the profiles and see if something happened to him in his life that could have caused this anxiety. This would truly make the exhibit a success because I would know that the viewers are actually interested in the members of the family, not only the food. It would prove that they most certainly understand what Feast of the Seven fishes is really about. Yes, it is absolutely about food; believe me, I love the food. However, if the viewers of the exhibition make an interest in learning about the people, they will understand what is actually going on at the table much better. Sure, they people at the table are eating food, but more importantly, they are bonding. They are enjoying eachothers company, cherishing the memories they had together, and making new memories for years to come.

Works Cited

Camp, Chrales. American Foodways. Little Rock: August House, 1989.

Claiborne, Craig. "A Seven Course Feast of Fish." The New York Times. 16 December 1987: C1, C8.

Forcinto, Carmine. E-mail to the author. 2 Dec. 1998.

Forcinito, Joseph. Email to the author. 29 Nov. 1998.

Gabaccia, Donna. "Italian Americans." Encarta Encyclopedia. 1998.

Polito, Arlene. Personal interview. 10 Dec. 1998.

Bibliography

Camp, Chrales. American Foodways. Little Rock: August House, 1989.

Claiborne, Craig. "A Seven Course Feast of Fish." The New York Times. 16 December 1987: C1, C8.

Forcinto, Carmine. E-mail to the author. 2 Dec. 1998.

Forcinito, Joseph. Email to the author. 29 Nov. 1998.

Gabaccia, Donna. "Italian Americans." Encarta Encyclopedia. 1998.

Kraut, Alan M. "Ethnic Foodways". Journal of American Culture.

Vol. 2, Fall 1979, No. 3.

Polito, Arlene. Personal interview. 10 Dec. 1998.

Scarpaci, Vincenza. A Portrait of the Italian Americans. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1982.

Home
Class Home Page