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It is a holiday tradition for many Jewish families - ordering Chinese takeout on Christmas. A group of podcasters at Edgemont Jr./Sr. High School in Scarsdale, New York, wanted to know where this tradition came from. Students Allen Chan, Jason Chen, Blake Feinstein and Max Wang filed this report for NPR'S Student Podcast Challenge.
(SOUNDBITE OF PODCAST, "WHY DO JEWISH AMERICANS EAT CHINESE FOOD ON CHRISTMAS?")
MAX WANG: What's the deal with Jewish people eating Chinese food on Christmas? I'm Max Wang, and today I'm here to discuss that strange and beautiful connection between Jewish American and Chinese American cultures. Between Chinese restaurants being the only ones open on Christmas to historically kosher menus or tolerant environments, the tradition of Jewish families sitting around a table with chow mein and General Tso's chicken is a long-established one with deep-rooted history. Here to speak with us today about that dynamic is Westchester Rabbi Adam Baldachin.
ADAM BALDACHIN: I for sure know about the stereotype of Jews eating Chinese food. I want to make it clear that there's no, like, Jewish ritual connected to that. It's a very, like, American Jewish custom to eat Chinese food. And I think there's a practical reason for that, which is that it's totally possible that the owners of the Chinese restaurant are not Christian 'cause they're Buddhist, or they are open because there's a sizable number of people that are not celebrating Christmas that are willing to order Chinese food for whatever reason.
MAX: And in the midst of that holiday spirit for Jewish customers, it's also important to note the perspective of Chinese American restaurant owners like Henry Chen (ph).
HENRY CHEN: The most, you know, is the Jewish people coming into the restaurant on Christmas Day.
ALLEN CHAN: And when they ate there, did they give you positive feedback? Like, did they like the food?
CHEN: They liked the food. They liked fish, the salmon, chicken broccoli, General Tso's chicken - the - all kind - egg rolls. Yeah.
ALLEN: Was the food kosher?
CHEN: Yeah, food kosher.
ALLEN: So no - not too much pork, not too much...
CHEN: Right, right.
ALLEN: ...Dairy and meat?
CHEN: Right, right.
MAX: That was Alan Chen interviewing a past Chinese American restaurant owner.
While the draw of good food is certainly a reason for why Jewish people continue to frequent these Chinese establishments, also important to recognize the historical significance, where geographically some of these Chinese or Jewish neighborhoods were close to each other in places like the Lower East Side or Brooklyn. Chinese restaurants really offered a place where Jewish people could easily go to and easily access.
On top of that, as Rabbi Adam Baldachin mentioned earlier, the idea of Chinese restaurants not really having any set Christian religious standards or having discrimination for Jewish people made these environments safe for people to come together, made these environments safe for different minorities to break down cultural barriers and just enjoy some good food during the holidays and have a good time.
BALDACHIN: You know, Jews and Chinese Americans as minorities I think have an interesting connection in that, you know, we, as two different minority communities within America, recognize the importance of keeping tradition and culture. We think about some of the difficulties with being immigrants and being recognized as immigrants at different moments in our time as Americans or our parents' or grandparents' and also the amazing gift that America offers all immigrants.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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