Local Residents Speak of Their Italian Holiday Traditions

by KYW's Hadas Kuznits

The holiday season is upon us, and for many people the holidays are synonymous with food and tradition.

The Italian Market in South Philadelphia is bustling this time of year as folks prepare their holiday traditions:

(Shopper #1): "Well, my grandmother came from Sicily, so she makes what we call our antipasto.  And then, being Italian, Christmas Eve and fish!"

(Shopper #2): "A lot of fish the day before Christmas."

(Kuznits): "What is the Feast of the Seven Fishes?"

(Shopper #3): "There's a bunch of people that came over here, Italian-Americans, who do seven fishes, 13 fishes. Seven is a really, really large number in Catholic tradition, as well as all the fisherman that made their living in Italy."

(Kuznits): "So the moral of the story is you have to eat a lot on the holidays?"

(Shopper #1): "Particularly on Christmas Eve! You have to eat a lot! Yes!"

(Shopper #3): "It is about the food and there's an old Italian proverb -- 'Chi mangia bene, viva bene', so, 'Whoever eats well, lives well.' "