Like many Italian-American families, the Berzattos sat down for a traditional “Feast of the Seven Fishes” during the chaotic Christmas-centric sixth episode of FX series, “The Bear.”
The drama-comedy, which dropped all 10 episodes of its much-anticipated second season on streaming service Hulu on June 22, tells the story of fine dining chef Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White of “Shameless”), who returns home to Chicago to run his late brother’s sandwich shop – the Original Beef of Chicagoland.
The second season of “The Bear” finds Carmy planning on transforming the grab-and-go shop into a modern, Michelin-star restaurant, and follows the quirky and flawed-yet-lovable characters as they face the pressures of life, family, relationships and grief, all while up against the unrelating restaurant industry.
The sixth episode serves as a flashback to several years prior during an intense Christmas Eve dinner at the Berzatto family home. Throughout the episode, family and friends ask for an explanation behind the tradition of serving a feast of seven different fish dishes, but no one seems to be able to answer the question.
If you’re of Italian descent or you know someone who is, you’ve likely heard of this Christmas Eve meal but, just like the family’s guests, have never known its origins.
So, what’s the deal with the Seven Fishes?
In a search of Times-Tribune archives, I found a few possible answers to the question.
“It’s really not so much that there’s seven fish, it’s that people have their seven fish,” Carl Pazzaglia, owner of South Side Seafood, said in December 2008 article centered on the beloved Italian tradition.
The article also mentioned that the seven fish dishes represent the seven sacraments of the Catholic faith.
Then, in December 1984, when talking with the Caprio family of Dunmore about their Christmas traditions, it was explained that the custom of eating fish or abstaining from meat on Christmas Eve is to prepare for the arrival of the Baby Jesus.
“I come from a good Catholic home,” Mary Caprio told the newspaper. “We have fish because we fast the day before a holiday.”
Caprio also said their Christmas Eve feast featured six fishes – Baccala (dried cod), eel, calamari, smelt, whiting and anchovies.
Monsignor Constantine Siconolfi told the Times-Tribune in December 2016, the tradition of the feast of seven fishes comes from Naples, Calabria and Sicily. Across those regions of Italy, families might have meals featuring seven, 12 or 13 fish dishes.
“The specific number each used usually held some religious or cultural significance,” Siconolfi said.
Italians are not the only ones that mark Christmas Eve with a special multi-dish meal. According to a December 1990 New York Times article, Polish families enjoy a feast of 12 meatless dishes meant to represent the 12 apostles of Jesus Christ. In the Provence region of France, families enjoy 13 desserts set out in a circle to represent Jesus Christ and his 12 apostles.
While there isn’t one succinct answer about the Seven Fishes, each seems to point in the same direction.
Traditions in families run deep, especially those centered on holidays and other special occasions. And we hold on to traditions because they keep our memories alive.
FX’s “The Bear” is streaming on Hulu.
Originally Published: July 12, 2023 at 2:00 PM EDT