SPL HOLIDAYS
Holiday Traditions From Around the World St. Pet e Life Holidays
This holiday season, more than ever, many will rely on their heritage and traditional customs to bring a sense of peace and continuity. We asked a cross-section of area residents from different ethnic backgrounds how they plan to spend the holidays. While many will be missing loved ones due to travel restrictions and safety precautions, they say the pleasures of familiar foods and rituals from their youth will pull them through.
BY MARCIA BIGGS
Theresa Scott / Italian Throwdown / Feast of the Seven Fishes For most Italian Americans, Christmas Eve is celebrated as the Feast of the Seven Fishes. It’s the focus of the holiday season, a time for family and friends to gather to celebrate their regional heritage and the riches of the sea. For Theresa Scott (formerly Morelli), though, it’s her annual “Italian Throwdown” on the first Saturday of December that kicks off the holiday season. This casual and very large gathering of friends and family keeps Theresa busy in the kitchen preparing Italian specialties such as eggplant parmesan, Stromboli, sausage and pepper, Chicken Vesuvius with artichokes, stewed rice balls stuffed with spinach and cheese, an array of cookies, tarts, zeppole, and her famous lemon olive oil cake with fresh rosemary. Just a few weeks later, she’ll be
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StPeteLifeMag.com
November/December 2020
at it again, but this time preparing fish dishes for up to 20 family members for the Feast of the Seven Fishes. For this, she insists it be a properly plated and seated affair. Planning, prepping, cooking and baking – but it’s all a labor of love. “My family is from Sicily and I am a true Italian cook,” she admits. “I make everything from scratch. It’s how you preserve the old way of doing things. The preparing and serving of food speaks to simple pleasures.” Despite being mom to 5-year-old twins Noah and Bella and holding down a job as a business strategist, Theresa revels in the customs and traditions of her Catholic Italian heritage, knowing that her
