’Tis The Season, a phrase that could be translated many different ways.
December is typically for eggnog and caroling, sleigh riding and hot cocoa, spinning the dreidel and latkes, lighting the candles and dashing all the way. Holiday bustle, too much traffic, shopping, shopping and more shopping. Online package deliveries and stress galore. Until we stop and put it all into perspective and remember what it is all for.
December has always been a favorite month of mine. Not because I’m particularly religious or traditional, but because I thrive on hosting, gift giving, and watching people celebrate and be merry. Hospitality is in my blood, and being hospitable is at the heart of the holidays. December for me is my Super Bowl of hospitality and Christmas Eve is the perfect game!
Our Christmas Eve tradition started with my dad Big Vic over 25 years ago. The first few years we were surrounded by a half dozen families at Birravino—at that time named Basil T’s.
As the years went by the grandchildren arrived and the festivities changed from Champagne and eggnog to presents, play pens and Santa, but still at Basil T’s. It was tradition and one no one would have traded. But life isn’t frozen in time and traditions evolve.
Our last Christmas Eve at Basil’s was 2001, as the following year we lost my dad, Big Vic. He was the patriarch of the festivities—our grand marshal if you will. He was proud of his family and he lived to give—food, smiles, and his presence. The vacancy of his life made our tradition feel no longer right. Traditions change, seasons change, Christmas changes. We mold to the circumstances that arise. The festivity no longer felt right without my dad at Basil T’s, so we decided to open up our first home and hosted Christmas Eve there instead. Though the location was different, and our tradition was changing, the spirit was still the same.
My father created a Christmas Eve full of empathy, of generosity, of festivity, and—most importantly—of love. One might say the definition of hospitality. He loved Christmas Eve, he loved his family and friends, he loved cooking on Christmas Eve, he loved the Feast of The Seven Fishes “La Vigilia di Natale”. He loved feeding people.
In Italian-American households, the Feast of the Seven Fishes is celebrated on Christmas Eve. This celebration kicks off the holiday festivities with a huge dinner consisting of seven courses of fish and seafood dishes. The tradition stems from the Roman Catholic practice of abstaining from meat the day before religious holidays (now skipping meat is mostly reserved for Fridays in Lent). In those earlier days, Italians embraced refraining from meat and celebrated Christmas Eve by pulling out all the stops and incorporating fish into a large meal. Over time, this over-the-top meal turned into a custom that many Italian-American families look forward to each December 24th.
In a tribute to my dad all of our restaurants will be serving a menu on Christmas Eve consisting of choices from a special menu that has at least 7 fish choices. It's not required that you eat all seven dishes, but what is required is that you enjoy your family and friends, enjoy a plate of delicious food, enjoy the spirit of Christmas Eve “La Vigilia di Natale” that my father left behind.
Cheers to tradition, to family and to Christmas Eve. Dad, I love you and miss you!!
Love
Be Merry
Celebrate
Enjoy your Family
Merry Christmas,
Vic
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