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Show Italian Foods at Christmas Vary According to Regions Feasting is an integral part of the Christmas celebration, celebra-tion, .symbolizing not only rejoicing at the coming of Christ but, al.so, the spirit of sharing and brotherly love which is characteristic of the season. Like so many other aspects of Christmas, it is a blend of Christian and pre-Christian traditions, strongly influenced by local customs. In Italy the dishes of the Christmas feast vary widely depending on the region. In the north, for example, the meal may begin witn cappelletti ("little hats") stuffed with meat or tortellini, a sort of ravioli, followed by a main dish of meat, which may be anything from roast turkey with chestnut stuffing to zampone, a pork sausage packed in a pig's leg smothered with lentils. In the area around Rome, the traditional dish of Christmas Christ-mas Eve is "capitone," a large female eel, roasted, baked, or fried, following a religious tradition which prescribes a meatless dinner on Christmas Eve, the Vigilia, or Christmas Christ-mas vigil. In accordance with this tradition, the Roman fish market, held the night of December 23rd, is a peculiar feature of the Christmas observance. In the south of Italy, the feasting usually begins with macaroni with meat and tomato sauce, followed by chicken or meat in jelly. Particularly characteristic of Christmas feasting in all regions are sweets: fruitcakes of various types (panettone) and other sweets in which nuts and honey figure prominently. promi-nently. The Christmas season coincides with the lengthening day and the beginning of the New Year, and from ancient times nuts have been a symbol of fertility and a promise of the next year's harvest, also representing hope for increase in-crease in herds and flocks, and the family, as well. The use of honey, the most common sweetener in ancient Rome, was a traditional way of conveying the wish that the new year might be as sweet as the gift. |