by Domenick Rafter's

It's a classic Italian tradition that still reigns over large family gatherings on Dec. 24th every year, even after several generations have brought Italian-Americans more into assimilation. While it shouldn't be surprising in a country surrounded on three sides by water, the tradition, called festa de bette peschi in Italian, is more of an Italian-American tradition than an Italian one.

Back in Italy, the tradition was only observed in several southern provinces like Apulia – home of the city of Bari, where Barese Italian-Americans come from, Calabria, where Calabrese come from, and Campania, home to Naples, where Napolitan Italian-Americans come from.

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Source: http://queenstribune.com/