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Italian American Christmas Customs and Recipes

© Eva Holmes

I intended to write an article describing the various traditions and customs Italians have when celebrating Christmas. Unfortunately, I realized I don't know very much, aside from my own family's traditions.

We used to spend Christmas at my grandmother's house. Everyone turned out for a dinner which was held on Christmas Eve, and then another on Christmas. Homemade pasta was always on the menu, as was broccoli rabe, and string beans in garlic and olive oil. No meat or poultry was served on Christmas Eve, but there was fish, as is still the tradition in Italy. In later years my grandmother sometimes cooked a ham, and there was always a large antipasto plate full of meats and cheeses and olives.

My grandmother and her sister used to compete over baccala, the salted codfish. Both would make the dish, one with tomato sauce, one without. After it was served, they'd ask everyone which they liked better. My mother tells me that my aunt's was better, not that she dared to tell her mother.

They had a similar competition over homemade pasta. My aunts would always talk fondly about rolling the dough out by hand, slyly hinting that my grandmother's pasta was inferior because she used the crank-machine. My grandmother, of course, went along with their talk, extolling the virtues of hand rolled and cut dough, never admitting she used the machine!

I remember the cookies best, especially the soft molasses cookies. She also made more traditional Italian cookies, like cenci, the fried cookie ribbons sprinkled with powdered sugar. I remember her frying these right before she went out visiting, so that they'd still be warm when we arrived.

She also made biscotti, but it wasn't until the later years that she started making them the Italian way. Before, she had always used the Jewish biscotti recipe , probably because she grew up with so many Jewish people in her neighborhood in the Bronx.

As you can see, it's the food I remember best :)

Now that my grandmother is gone, the traditional family dinner is held at the eldest daughter's house, with other sisters contributing their part of the yearly meal. There's still a competitive edge to see who can make the best baccala.

My family no longer makes the yearly pilgrimage. If you won't be visiting your family either, you might try your hand at making some pasta. Pasta isn't as hard or difficult to make as you might imagine and you don't need any special tools or machines, although they can be handy. In fact, I find it easier to work by hand rather than the machine. The only tool you might need besides a rolling pin is a pasta wheel, which you can buy at most kitchen good stores for several dollars. It's possible, however, to use a pizza cutter or chopper or even sharp kitchen knife. Here is a recipe for ravioli, which is my favorite:

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