Italian Christmas Dinner
What do Italians eat for Christmas dinner? Well, there’s no set Christmas meal. Instead each Italian region tends to have its own traditional festive dishes. However, there are broad similarities to the nature – and size – of the meal, which tends to be substantial and to consist of many delicious courses. Prosecco, pasta and panettone are sure to feature.
It's worth remembering that the tradition of feasting at this time of year can be traced back to Roman times. The Roman festival of Saturnalia, in which the ancient Romans celebrated the dedication of the temple of Saturn, began on 17th December and lasted until the 23rd. It was an excuse for feasting and drinking, often to excess.
Christmas Eve – Vigilia di Natale
Christmas Eve retains its magical atmosphere in Italy. Families often attend Midnight Mass and frequently get together for a special meal beforehand. Traditionally, Christmas Eve was treated rather like Good Friday, a giorno di magro or ‘lean day’, when no one ate meat in preparation for the religious feast to come. Although the tradition isn’t as strictly observed as it once was, many people – particularly in Sicily and southern Italy – still have a meat-free meal on Christmas Eve.
Seven Fishes
This Christmas Eve meal may feature many different fish dishes - often known as the 7-fish dinner (or 9 fish or 12 fish, depending on the custom of the village). A meal might start with a selection of antipasti (perhaps olives, peppers, mozzarella balls, sun-dried tomatoes and bruschetta). This might be followed by a roast fish dish (maybe roast sea bass), and almost certainly some baccala – salt cod. Crab, fried calamari and shrimps might also put in an appearance. People in northern regions of Italy might not make the 7-fish dinner, but may serve a meat-free filled pasta – ravioli di magro; perhaps a spinach and ricotta ravioli or, a Lombard favourite, ravioli filled with pumpkin.
Christmas Day- Natale
Dinner on Christmas Day goes on for hours – and will have taken even longer to prepare. Again it will almost certainly start with a selection of antipasti – perhaps including salami and Parma ham, and a glass or two of sparkling prosecco. Then there will be another hearty filled pasta dish, such as agnolotti, ravioli or tortellini. Most families will follow this with a roast – often poultry, served with lashings of vegetables; others might have a local meaty speciality, such as a stuffed pig’s trotter. Although Italians don’t usually indulge much in desserts, at Christmas most people will make an exception and follow the meat course with some panettone – a light but buttery sponge cake. In some regions people might also have some pandolce, a heavy fruit cake with pine nuts.
Boxing Day and New Year’s Eve
On Boxing Day – the day after Christmas, many families traditionally use up leftover meat to make a pasta dish. The meat will be minced and used to stuff ravioli or tortelloni. On New Year’s Eve – or for some families New Year’s Day, another special meal will be prepared. This will often include a lentil dish, as eating lentils is considered to bring good fortune.
Read more about the Festive Food of Italy
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