According to one New York rabbi, one question has persisted for as long as Jews lives alongside Christians: What should we do on Christmas?
The solution that 19th century American Jews landed on is practically a Christmas tradition unto itself: Jews eat Chinese food on Christmas.
According to Rabbi Joshua Eli Plaut, author of the book A Kosher Christmas, the first mention of American Jews eating in a Chinese restaurant dates back to 1899 in the American Hebrew Journal. But the tradition has really gained steam in the last 35 years, when Chinese restaurants have become the destination of choice for American Jews on Christmas.
In fact, in many cities, the biggest day of the year for Chinese restaurants is Chinese New Year, followed closely by Christmas, Plaut writes.
It probably happened first for convenience. There wasn't much for Jews to do on Christmas. No one was working. Everything was closed — except for Chinese restaurants. They were not just open, they were close. In New York city, the Jewish community on the Lower East side was virtually next door to Chinatown. And there was the added benefit that Chinese restaurant owners, who didn't practice Christianity either, didn't discriminate against Jews. In fact, according to Plaut, the Chinese just saw two groups: Chinese and non-Chinese, and both were customers.
By the 1950s, Chinese food was gaining in popularity. People wanted to try new things. Everything exotic was in fashion and Chinese food was considered very cosmopolitan.
Chinese food also had the benefit of being nearly kosher. Since dairy isn't a big part of Chinese food, Jewish diners didn't have to worry about the prohibition of mixing meat and milk. Of course, the egg rolls had pork but, according to Sarah Lohman, author of Eight Flavors: The Untold Story of American Cuisine, these were either easily avoided or the ingredients in a egg roll, chopped so finely after all, could be ignored. If nothing else, Jewish diners loved the Chinese egg dishes.
And so it happened that Christmas became the day that Jews eat Chinese. Pass the soy sauce.
