Jewish-American patronage of Chinese restaurants is a cultural phenomenon, particularly associated withChristmas, that emerged inAmerican Jewish culture in early 20th century New York City.
The tradition developed as largeJewish andChinese immigrant communities lived in close proximity onManhattan'sLower East Side. They were, as observers noted, "bound by proximity and otherness" as the two largest non-Christian immigrant groups. Chinese restaurants welcomed Jewish customers compared to the antisemitism Jews experienced in the eateries of other immigrant groups, lacked Christian iconography, and appeared compatible withJewish dietary laws because the food did not mix milk and meat. Despite the presence of pork and shellfish, the chopping and concealment of ingredients allowed many Jews to view the cuisine as acceptable.
By the 1930s, Chinese restaurants were firmly established in Jewish neighborhoods, and eating Chinese food on Christmas became a ritualized alternative to a holiday not usually celebrated by Jews. Over time, the practice evolved into a marker of American Jewish culture, celebrated for reinforcing community bonds, symbolizing assimilation, and reflecting the ongoing construction of Jewish identity in the United States.
According toJennifer 8. Lee, producer ofThe Search for General Tso,Jewish andChinese immigrants in early 20th centuryNew York City were "bound by proximity and otherness." Living side by side on theLower East Side, they were the two largest non-Christian immigrant groups.[1][2][3] By 1910, nearly one million Jews ofEastern European ancestry, over a quarter of the city's population, lived in New York City.[4]
The earliest known reference of Jews eating Chinese food appears in an 1899 issue ofThe American Hebrew, which criticized Jews for dining in non-kosher restaurants, especially Chinese ones.[5] By 1936, at least 18 Chinesetea gardens and restaurants operated in heavily Jewish neighborhoods like the Lower East Side, all located close toRatner's, the famedJewish dairy restaurant.[5][6]
InLower Manhattan, most immigrant eateries served their own communities. Jews ate in Jewishdelis, Italians in Italian restaurants, Germans for Germans. Chinese restaurateurs, however, welcomed Jews and other outsiders.[4][5] In addition, their establishments lacked the Christian iconography common in Italian places. With littleantisemitism and no judgement about belonging, Chinese restaurants felt safer and more inclusive for Jewish immigrants.[7]
They also offered a way to appear to followJewish dietary laws. Chinese cuisine traditionally didn'tmix milk and meat, giving an illusion ofkashrut. However, the dishes were stilltreyf because pork and shellfish were common.[1][5][4] As Rabbi Joshua Eli Plaut notes,ko p'eng (to cut and cook), the process of cutting, chopping, and mincing, made foods like pork, shrimp, and lobster appear assafe treyf -- For example, pork was hidden and wrapped inwontons that looked similar to Jewishkreplach (dumplings) -- to Jews seeking to assimilate into American culture.[4][5]
Ultimately, many American-born Jews came to viewkashrut as "impractical and anachronistic".[8] For younger generations, eating Chinese food became a subtle way to break from tradition and offered an escape from Jewishparochialism and the chance to define themselves as modern, urbane New Yorkers. Dining in these unfamiliar, "un-Jewish" spaces, with unusual wallpaper, eccentric decorations, chopsticks, and exotic food names, signaled that these Jews could be "somewhat sophisticated, urbane New Yorkers." "Of all the peoples whom immigrant Jews and their children met, of all the foods they encountered in America, the Chinese were the most foreign, the most 'un-Jewish'."[4]
Before theemancipation of the Jews in Europe, Christmas was a dangerous holiday for Jews. It was a night of drunken violence and sometimes pogroms against the Jewish populations. Jews stayed at home for their safety.[6] In the United States, Jews felt alienated but did not want to stay home.[7]
The tradition of Jews eating Chinese food on Christmas dates to as early as 1935, whenThe New York Times reported a restaurant owner named Eng Shee Chuck broughtchow mein on Christmas Day to the Jewish Children's Home inNewark.[6]
"Over the years, Jewish American families and friends gather on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at Chinese restaurants across the United States to socialize and to banter, to reinforce social and familiar bonds, and to engage in a favorite activity for Jews during the Christmas holiday. The Chinese restaurant has become a place where Jewish identity is made, remade and announced."[5]
According to historians, eating Chinese food became a meaningful symbol of American Judaism and part of a ritualized celebration of immigration, education, family, community, and continuity.[8][9]
Michael Tong ofShun Lee Palace talked about the issue in a 2003 interview withThe New York Times:[10]
Welcome to the conundrum that is Christmas New York style: while most restaurants close for the holiday, or in a few cases, stay open and serve a prix fixe meal laden with froufrou, thousands of diners, most of them Jewish, are faced with a dilemma. There's nothing to celebrate at home and no place to eat out, at least if they want a regular dinner. That leaves Chinese restaurants...
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