The Feast of the Seven Fishes is one of the most beloved Christmas Eve traditions in most Italian-American households-- as long as family members eating the ocean's bounty are seafood lovers. While some people heard tales about Nonna killing eels on the side of the bathtub, two things are true for most: The Feast and the Seven Fishes is all about family and food.

The feast, also known as "La Festa dei Sette Pesci" in the old country, is a tradition that is popular in southern Italy. It reportedly started in Naples or Sicily and ever traveled north. The number of fish eaten represents different things for each family. Those who eat seven fishes are representing the seven deadly sins, the creation story, the seven sacraments or the seven virtues of Christian theology: hope, fortitude, charity, faith, temperance, prudence, and justice.

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Source: http://www.ibtimes.com/