Buon Natale

Buon Natale a tutti! It’s the holiday Season…. and today is Christmas Eve!

Our website – Italyville.com will launch shortly after the holidays, so make sure to check back soon. If you’re Italian, Italian American or just enjoy Italian culture, make sure to check us out.

The holidays are a great time of year for many people around the world. There are plenty of Italian specialties and traditions that help make today particularly enjoyable for Italian families. For many Italians, fish is a huge part of Christmas Eve. The 7 fish dinner is an Italian tradition that my family has always followed. Basically, we serve at least 7 different types of seafood. This tradition is more of a southern Italian tradition as most northern Italians (north of Naples) do not follow this tradition. The reasoning behind the 7 fishes is unclear but it may have to do with the 7 sacraments of the Catholic Church or the 7 days it took Mary and Joseph to travel to Bethlehem. Seven is often referred to as the perfect number and has great significance in the Catholic Church. Here’s a list of seafood we’ll have on the menu tonight.

- Calamari (squid)
- Octopus
- Conch
- Shrimp
- Scallops
- Cod (bacala)
- Clams
- Mussels
- Lobster
- Haddock

Two great dishes that we have each year:
Antipasto di Mare (fish salad) and
Zuppa di Pesce with red sauce.
I’m getting hungry just thinking about it!

From everyone at Itayville.com, we would like to wish you and your family a Very Merry Christmas – Buon Natale a tutti!