NORTH PROVIDENCE -- At the Captain's Catch on Mineral Spring Avenue, there are two fish cases representing two generations of a Christmas Eve tradition.
In one case, there are glistening jumbo shrimp, pink lobster meat and bay scallops that glimmer like pearls.
In the other case, there are fishes of a different stripe and from a different era. Silver smelts, slabs of salted cod and coils of dark-colored eel, resembling some medieval monster.
It's here, at this fish counter, that the two sisters from Silver Lake, Eda Rossi, 80, and Rose Romano, 84, made their first stop.
Rossi tapped her finger against the display case, pointing at the slabs of salted cod, which Italians call baccala.
Steve Iannozzi, 18, an employee, reached into the bin of salted water and held up a piece of the white fish.
Mrs. Rossi, as she is known in here, shook her head.
Iannozzi held up another piece. And then another.
Finally, Rossi nodded her head in approval and moved on to the next fish. She had a list of 11 different fishes scrawled on a scrap of yellow paper.
Over the years, Rossi has combined some of the traditional fish, such as baccala and eel, with the more modern, Americanized cuisine, such as stuffed shrimp and clam chowder. But the heart of her family's Christmas Eve feast has always been fish.
The Vigilia meal is known to many as the feast of the seven fishes. But there are as many explanations for the seven fishes, as there are kinds of fish.
Some count seven fishes for the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church. Others say seven fishes represent seven sacred virtues. Still others say seven is simply a lucky number. Even the Italian pastor at the Holy Ghost Church on Federal Hill needed help from his secretary in coming up with the symbolism for the seven fish.
Eating fish, many said, goes back to the Catholic ritual of abstaining from meat before the holy day of Christmas.
Like many traditions, the meaning and the menu of the Vigilia has evolved over the years.
Mark Castelli, who has owned the Captain's Catch since 1982, has watched the tastes of many families change, as the older generation fades and more modern palates prevail.
As a kid, Castelli used to skin eel for his grandfather. Personally, he can't stand to eat these gamey creatures. They are not a huge seller either.
Castelli has 250 pounds of eel for sale this Christmas. By comparison, he expects to sell about 4,000 pounds of shrimp.
But Castelli, who learned the business from the "old-timers" at King Neptune's, a fish store in North Providence, still skins the bloody eels.
"The other day, a 98-year-old guy came in to pick out his eel," said Castelli.
John and Lotti Landolfi, of Johnston, bought at least seven different kinds of fish -- everything from baccala to swordfish. They will start cooking today around noon, attend Mass in the afternoon and then go home to eat. A first generation American, Landolfi, 80, hopes his daughter will carry on the tradition.
Asked about the meaning of the feast of the seven fishes, Landolfi deferred to the experts. "You'll have to go to Federal Hill," he said.
WALTER POTENZA wants to set the record straight. The chef and food historian believes Italian-Americans have lost the true meaning of the vigil meal.
"The seven-fishes idea is something that someone created for Italo-Americans," said Potenza, owner of Aquaviva on Atwells Avenue. "In Italy, it doesn't exist."
A native of Abruzzi, Italy, Potenza said only three regions of Italy consumed fish on Christmas Eve. "To say it's maintained all over Italy is a pure lie." Growing up, Potenza ate seven vegetables, including lentils, fried cauliflower, white beans and puréed chestnuts.
Potenza said these legumes symbolized seven Catholic virtues: faith, hope, charity, temperance, prudence, fortitude and justice.
Potenza said the idea behind the vigil was to eat lightly, as penance before Christmas.
In the regions of Italy where fish was consumed, the vigil menu depended largely on one's social class, Potenza said.
Poor Italians ate the salted cod -- a food introduced to Italy by Portuguese sailors who traveled to Norway. The Italian nobility sent out their minions to fetch them eel, which was considered a delicacy.
In many households, the eel took on a special symbolism. Eating the eel, a serpent-like seafood, was thought to cleanse the body of evil. There were some bonus effects, too. "All the people that hate you," Potenza said, "you eat it and they get sick."
Last night, Potenza hosted a vigil dinner at Aquaviva and served eel for dessert. This eel, or "serpentone," was made with almonds, honey and eggs.
For the first main course, he served baccala cooked with almond milk and cinnamon and served on polenta. For the second main course, there was a pan-roasted salmon with saffron sauce, cider vinegar, pine nuts and raisins on a bed of puréed chick peas and lentils.
The menu was fashioned in the spirit of eating lightly or "unindulgently," which Potenza said is the true spirit of the Vigilia.
The mention of many Italo-American eating baked, stuffed shrimp and lobster on Christmas Eve caused Potenza to quake. He ripped off his purple framed glasses, and his voice roared through his kitchen:
"If we go out and buy lobster, shrimp and scallops, it defeats the whole purpose," he said.
BOB LA MOIA cannot pinpoint the history of the vigil meal, but he recalls one distinct sensation: the smell of eel cooking in his grandmother's basement. She was trying not to stink up the house.
A native of the Silver Lake section of Providence, he said the early Italian immigrants ate bait fish, such as eel and squid, because they could not afford the more expensive catches.
"The Italians who came here didn't have two cents to rub together," he said. "People didn't have cash to be dropping on lobster until later."
La Moia runs La Moia Restaurant & Tapas Bar on Pocasset Avenue in Providence. He's hosting a vigil meal tonight. Raphael Bar-Risto in downtown Providence is also serving the option of a vigil menu, including baccala, smelt, scallops and baked, stuffed lobster.
At La Moia, tonight's menu includes 14 different fish dishes because, the owner said, "seven is not enough."
Find more ways to celebrate the season, upload photos of your holiday gatherings, search for recipes and more at:
http://projo.com/seasonal/holidays/
