Christmas Eve traditions
@CRK109 (14556)
United States
December 18, 2016 2:45pm CST
Growing up, my mother always followed the feast of the seven fishes on Christmas Eve. She would go to the seafood market a few days before Christmas Eve to buy shrimp and eel and squid and cod fish and lots of other delicacies, and she would cook for days. Family and friends would come to dinner and they ate up every bite!
Well, all except my poor niece. She's highly allergic to seafood, so Mom would make spaghetti with ricotta cheese for her. Needless to say, Christmas Eve was not her favorite night of the year.
Now that most of the family is gone, my niece invites my nephew and me to her house for Christmas Eve and she serves Chinese food. That's been her tradition for many, many years now. At least she's able to eat everything and she can sit back and enjoy. I'm glad she found a tradition that works for her.
What Christmas Eve traditions do you have, if any?
-Claudia-
8 people like this
9 responses
@Juliaacv (51485)
• Canada
18 Dec 16
Our son's fiancée, who is Polish, normally gathers with her family on Christmas eve and they do the fish supper thing also. Our son said it is incredible-and he loves to eat, so I take his word for it! Her family isn't gathering this year, so they will have a quiet night at her mother's place and in the morning leave to drive here. They will have about a 3 hour drive, so I'm hoping that they have good weather for travelling.
We used to enjoy scalloped potatoes and glazed ham for Christmas eve. Then we would wait until the church choir would come to the house to sing Christmas carols and then we'd get ready for midnight mass. After mass we were allowed to open just 1 gift.
Enjoy your time with your niece and nephew and Merry Christmas!!
2 people like this
@miniam (9154)
• Bern, Switzerland
19 Dec 16
Is the chinese take away?
Since l lived alone for almost 7 years, Christmas had no meaning at all, l did not want to put myself under pressure of decorating, buying presents.
I tried going away for years during this period,then l stayed away till 2nd week january.This way, l managed to skip christmas at home.
2 people like this
@GardenGerty (160883)
• United States
18 Dec 16
Really I have none. At least as far as meals go. I like to go to a service in the evening though.
2 people like this
@dragon54u (31634)
• United States
18 Dec 16
I don't really have any but I'd like to start one. On Christmas eve the children get new pajamas and a book the family can read together. I like that one. My sister helped her grandson put together a popcorn/snack/drink box that includes a Christmas movie for the family to watch, I think that's a nice one, too. I do prefer the reading, though.
2 people like this
@LadyDuck (472004)
• Switzerland
21 Dec 16
The "Feast of the Seven Fishes" is a tradition followed by south Italians emigrated to America, especially in the San Francisco area. We do not have this tradition in Italy, but we used to eat only fish the day of the Christmas Eve. Most families now (especially in the north) do not respect anymore and they eat what they want, including meats. I still eat only fish the 24th of December.
@LadyDuck (472004)
• Switzerland
22 Dec 16
@ChesneyM In the past the 24th for Roman Catholic was a fasting day, later it was considered a day without meat (as all the Fridays), now it is no more mandatory to have no meat on the Christmas Eve, but for many families it is still tradition to eat only fish. I know that all the family of my Mom never eats meat on Christmas Eve, I eat fish because we love it, it's surely not a sacrifice because I will make shrimp cocktails, smoked salmon, baked oysters and scallops on rice with creamy saffron sauce.
@LadyDuck (472004)
• Switzerland
23 Dec 16
@ChesneyM Well I call leftovers, but in reality I will have ingredients to recycle. I mean I am not preparing dozens of salmon canapes, but I will keep some slices of smoked salmon that I will serve in another way, may be with blinis, or I will make a salmon mousse. I never serve cooked food leftovers to my husband. I always try to make only what it is enough for us, but not more.
@amadeo (111938)
• United States
18 Dec 16
Like you all of my family are gone.My children are all over the place.
It will be a quiet one for us.Normally with the tradition we always had pasta with the works.I missed this a lot.
But time moves on. Enjoy your visit with the niece and nephew.At least this is family.
1 person likes this
@CRK109 (14556)
• United States
20 Dec 16
Yes indeed. I hope I'm feeling well enough to have that visit.
@Kandae11 (55131)
•
18 Dec 16
Back home in Guyana, we would be baking most of the night - bread, cakes etc. The traditional meal on that night would be rice cooked with black eye peas, coconut milk and pieces of meat. That could be served with 'pepperpot' which is usually served with the freshly baked bread for breakfast Christmas day.
1 person likes this
@CRK109 (14556)
• United States
20 Dec 16
wow that sounds so delicious! I would have loved to have been invited to a home that had that tradition!
