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Showcasing the best of North Central West Virginia’s deep Italian history, the Feast of the Seven Fishes is set to provide both locals and out-of-towners with a weekend of rich, traditional Italian fun. This year, the weekend will kick off Dec. 7 with The Festival Cucina, while the all-day Italian street market will take over Monroe Street Dec. 8....

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When Chef Carmelo LaMotta, owner of LaMotta’s Italian Restaurant in south Fort Myers, makes his Christmas Eve grocery list, there's no mistaking his Italian roots.  In addition to the old standbys of bread and wine, he adds shrimp, calamari, octopus, clams, mussels and salted cod to the lineup. For LaMotta and Italian-American families across South...

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An event that’s been held in Fairmont for going over a decade is expected to again bring thousands to the town. The Feast of the Seven Fishes is going on it’s twelfth year now in Fairmont and is considered a holiday homecoming. The all day festival includes food and wine, along with local artisans selling products in the middle of town.

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When chef Mario Carbone’s great-grandparents on his father’s side migrated from Sicily, they may have been leaving their homes, but not everything was left behind. As with many Italians, their culinary customs made the trek across the Atlantic. “Most of the migration to the U.S. happened from southern Italians, who had less money and were looking f...

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Every year in the U.S., many people celebrate the Feast of the Seven Fishes on Christmas Eve. Although it is unclear when the dinner became so popular, this celebration is considered one of the most Italian traditions. Typically, the family gathers round a feast of seven different seafood dishes or one or two different types of fish prepared in sev...

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If you're an Italian-American, especially if your roots track back to Southern Italy, you know that it has long been customary to steer clear of eating meat on Christmas Eve.   Instead, traditional, family-style celebrations on Christmas Eve, or La Vigilia, as the day is referenced in parts of Italy, are often marked by a Feast of Seven Fish...

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Aside from being one of the only times "fishes" is a proper term, the Feast of the Seven Fishes -- or "Esta dei Sette Pesci" as they say in the old country -- is one of the most delicious Italian-American traditions, at least for those who love seafood. Besides being utterly tasty, there is also a fun history behind the Christmas banquet.  ...

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An Italian-American Christmas Feast with guest chefs Joe Clarke (American Grocery Restaurant) along with Lauren Zanardelli & Graham Foster (Neue Southern Food Truck). Seven course dinner featuring a variety of seafood and/or shellfish dishes to celebrate 'La Viglia' (the vigil). An Italian-American Christmas tradition that is believed to h...

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The Feast of the Seven Fishes has become a Christmas Eve tradition for Italian-Americans, based on the Catholic practice of refraining from eating meat on that night.   Why seven? There's no definitive answer. In fact, not everyone limits themselves to that number. Some feasts will feature 10, 12 or 13 dishes. Aren't you glad we cleared all...

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This may seem odd coming from a Jewish woman from Brooklyn, but I love celebrating Christmas Eve with a feast of the seven fishes. It's a Southern Italian (and now Italian-American) custom in which a grand meal of at least seven different kinds of seafood is served before midnight Mass. The fish part comes from the Catholic practice of abstaining...

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