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A Christmas Eve Feast, Italian Style
December 3rd, 2010 | 
Author: By Brook, Staff Writer, Baby and Sofia (@babyandsofia)
The Christmas season in Italy is amazing. While the Catholic Church is formally separate from the Italian government, it is still very integrated into all realms of society; Christmas is a very traditional and very celebrated holiday.
When we lived in Italy, I adored the Christmas season almost entirely for the gorgeous decorations and lights that filled the city streets. Every lamp-post, tree, storefront and restaurant was decorated with white lights and red bows. Vendors selling freshly-roasted chestnuts materialized on every corner. When my husband and I were married, we lived in a loft apartment in the downtown of a little port city adjacent to Naples and Christmas there was positively picturesque. We would take a walk after dinner nearly every single during the Christmas season (which lasts through January 6, the Feast of the Epiphany) through the city just to enjoy the romantic lights and décor.
Italians are incredibly traditional by nature; during the holidays, meals and celebrations are dictated by tradition. Christmas Eve is usually a very large gathering of extended relatives to enjoy an enormous seafood feast, with a break at midnight for the parade of the Baby Jesus. Parade of the Baby Jesus, you ask? Yes; most Italian homes have an elaborate Nativity scene displayed during Christmas, but without the Baby Jesus in the manger. At midnight on Christmas Eve, the youngest family member parades around the house holding up the Baby Jesus, with everyone else following, until they reach the Nativity. Baby Jesus is placed in the manger, as it is now technically Christmas Day, and He has been born. Everyone returns to the feast, which generally lasts several hours and is followed by an extensive gift-giving-and-opening session.
The Christmas Eve feast is a serious culinary event. And in southern Italy, it is all about the seafood. The traditional menu is as follows:
Prosecco
Antipasti:
Fried seaweed doughballs (sounds odd, but amazingly delicious)
Shrimp cocktail
Tuna pate and toasted bread
Sole pate and toasted bread
Deviled eggs
White wine for the rest of the meal
First (pasta) course:
Spaghetti with mussels, clam, and cherry tomatoes
Second course:
Baked sea bass, seasoned with olive oil, lemon, salt, pepper,and crushed garlic
Third course:
Russian salad
Boiled potatoes, seasoned with rosemary and garlic
Salad of white cabbage, anchovies and green olives
Seasonal fruit
Christmas desserts:
Cassata siciliana
Panettone
Pandoro
Cassatine
No meal is ever complete without at least one shot of a digestive liquor, usually Limoncello or Grappa, which is followed by an espresso.
Italian Christmas Eve festivities are epic. The meal, the wine, the desserts, the atmosphere. The last Christmas Eve meal I attended as a guest, in Naples, ended at 3am, by which time I was completely stuffed and a little sleepy from all the wine. This year, though, it is my turn to host this magnificent feast at our home here in the Great Midwest.
Buone feste a tutti!
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Sounds wonderful!
Growing up, my Great-Grandparents, who were from Italy, fixed meals like that for Christmas. Everyone thought it was crazy I had that for Christmas dinner, but I loved it!
That sounds amazing! I wish I could participate in or host such an event – I’ve always wanted to! My husband’s family is part Italian but they’re not big on traditional festivities – maybe I should start some myself!
I love traditional festivities! I think you should definitely bring back the seafood feast on Natale!
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