Eel is a traditional food for Christmas Eve in Venice. Grilled eels are popular and it is said that the Doge Andrea Gritti died at the age of 84 on December 28, 1538 after eating too many grilled eels on Christmas Eve.
A famous preparation for Christmas Eve on the island of Burano in the Venetian lagoon is a risi e fasjoi col brodo de gò, rice and beans with a broth made of goby. This isn’t the only famous Venetian dish with eel. Risotto de la “Visilia” is a special risotto made on Christmas Eve. It is unusual for two reasons: it is not cooked according to the risotto method, although it’s called a risotto, and it combines cheese with fish. The dish probably evolved from a simple fish pilaf, using, for example, goby. Then the eel was added and finally the beans.
The popularity of eel for Christmas in Naples, and in fact throughout Italy, seems to be a phenomenon of pre-Christian times related to a water cult of the Etruscans that has now become a ritual food in which, in the words of author Carol Field, “the sacred and profane meet.” Of course, one reason that so much Christmas food revolves around fish is because of the symbology of fish in Christological thought, namely, Christ as a fisher of men.
Thanks to http://www.cliffordawright.com/caw/food/entries/display.php/id/51/