Culinary Syncretism Masquerading as Catholic Tradition
The Catholic News Agency (CNA) portal (December 24, 2025) reports on the “Feast of the Seven Fishes,” tracing its origins to southern Italian poverty and the region’s proximity to the ocean. The article claims this tradition stems from the Catholic practice of abstaining from meat on Christmas Eve, while noting the symbolic significance of the number seven in Scripture and sacraments. It describes the meal as a multi-course seafood banquet with dishes like linguine con frutti di mare and desserts such as struffoli, framing it as a cultural heritage preserved by Italian immigrants in America.
Naturalistic Reduction of Penitential Discipline
The article reduces the Church’s venerable discipline of abstinence to a mere cultural artifact, stating:
The Feast of the Seven Fishes tradition is also tied to the Catholic Church’s practice of not eating meat during certain times of the year — for example, on Fridays during Lent and on the eve of some holidays.
This neutered explanation omits the supernatural purpose of penance—to atone for sin and prepare souls for divine encounter. The pre-1958 liturgical tradition treated Christmas Eve as a day of fasting and partial abstinence (meat permitted once), emphasizing spiritual vigilance for Christ’s Nativity (1917 Code of Canon Law, Can. 1252 §2). By contrast, the “seven fishes” spectacle transforms asceticism into gastronomic indulgence, exemplifying the conciliar sect’s anthropocentric inversion of sacred practices.
Symbolic Distortion and Liturgical Amnesia
CNA’s appeal to the number seven’s biblical significance (septies in die cadit justus—Prov 24:16) is a veneer masking doctrinal vacancy. While noting the seven sacraments and days of creation, the article ignores how pre-conciliar Catholicism ordered all symbolism toward Christ the King. The true “Vigil” (Vigilia Nativitatis Domini) involves the ancient Midnight Mass—where priests once recited the Martyrology proclaiming: “In the 5199th year of creation… Jesus Christ, eternal God and Son of the eternal Father… was born in Bethlehem of Judea of the Virgin Mary.” This sublime truth is displaced by seafood courses and struffoli, reducing the advent of the God-Man to a culinary event.
Erasure of Ecclesiastical Authority
Nowhere does the article reference the Magisterium’s disciplinary decrees governing abstinence. Pius XII’s 1951 Christmas Eve homily warned against “external celebration devoid of interior spirit,” while the Council of Trent (Session XXV) anathematized those who dismiss penitential practices as “human inventions.” The CNA piece exemplifies the conciliar revolution’s fruit:
Although it is not an actual feast day on the Catholic liturgical calendar, it is definitely a feast in terms of the amount of food on the table!
This flippant remark reveals the desacralization inherent in neo-modernism—equating liturgical feasts with buffet quantities.
Syncretism with Masonic Naturalism
The article’s emphasis on southern Italy’s “poverty” and “organized crime” as the tradition’s crucible aligns with Marxist-materialist historiography condemned by Pius XI (Divini Redemptoris, 1937). More gravely, it omits how Freemasonry infiltrated Italian culture during the Risorgimento (Pius IX, Etsi multa, 1873), replacing supernatural faith with folk rituals. The “seven fishes” custom—absent from universal Tradition—parallels Masonic “agape meals” that mimic Eucharistic fellowship while denying transubstantiation (St. Pius X, Lamentabili, Proposition 37).
Conclusion: Reclaiming the Vigil of the Nativity
True Catholics must reject this gastronomic parody of the Christmas Vigil. As Pius XI taught: “When men recognize both in private and public life that Christ is King, society will receive most blessed fruits of liberty, order, and peace” (Quas Primas, 1925). The Vigil demands fasting, confession, and silent adoration—not octopus salads and fried dough. To replace penance with seafood spectacles is to deny the Kingship of Christ and embrace the conciliar sect’s religion of man.
Source:
Where does the ‘Feast of the 7 Fishes’ Christmas Eve tradition come from? (catholicnewsagency.com)
Date: 24.12.2025