Jewish-American patronage of Chinese restaurants facts for kids

The Jewish-American tradition of eating Chinese food became popular in the 1900s, especially for Jewish people living in New York City. It's interesting because it shows how people can fit into a new culture by trying new things, like food that isn't usually part of their traditions.

One reason this happened is that Chinese food often doesn't use milk products, unlike many European foods. This was important because Jewish dietary laws (called kosher) don't allow mixing meat and milk. Also, in the 1930s, there were worries about unfriendly feelings towards Jewish people from German and Italian groups. Finally, many Jewish and Chinese immigrants lived close to each other in New York City.

The idea of American Jewish people eating at Chinese restaurants on Christmas or Christmas Eve is a well-known idea, often seen in movies and TV shows. This tradition likely started because many other restaurants were closed on Christmas Day.

Why Jewish People Started Eating Chinese Food

The story of Jewish people and Chinese restaurants, especially around Christmas, is a well-known one. It's even been written about in books!

This tradition began in the late 1800s on the Lower East Side, a neighborhood in Manhattan. This was because many Jewish people and Chinese immigrants lived very close to each other there.

Around 1910, nearly a million Jewish people from Eastern Europe lived in New York. They made up more than a quarter of the city's population! After the 1880s, many Chinese immigrants moved to the Lower East Side from California, and a lot of them opened restaurants.

The first time anyone wrote about Jewish people eating Chinese food was in 1899, in a journal called The American Hebrew. They weren't happy about it, saying Jewish people shouldn't eat at non-kosher restaurants, especially Chinese ones. But Jewish people kept going to these places anyway.

By 1936, there were 18 Chinese restaurants in areas where many Jewish people lived on the Lower East Side. Jewish people felt more comfortable in these restaurants than in the Italian or German restaurants that were common back then.

The tradition of eating Chinese food on Christmas dates back to at least 1935. That year, The New York Times reported that a restaurant owner named Eng Shee Chuck brought chow mein to a Jewish Children’s Home in Newark on Christmas Day.

Over the years, Jewish families and friends started gathering at Chinese restaurants across the United States on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. It became a way to spend time together, talk, and strengthen family and friend connections. Chinese restaurants became a special place for Jewish people during the Christmas holiday.

Why Chinese Food Was Popular

In Lower Manhattan, Jewish immigrants opened delis for other Jewish people, Italians ran restaurants for other Italians, and Germans had places mostly for Germans. But Chinese restaurant owners welcomed everyone, including Jewish people and other immigrant groups, without any special rules. More Jewish and Italian people actually preferred eating at Chinese restaurants over their own ethnic restaurants.

Chinese restaurant owners were welcoming, which made Jewish people feel safe and comfortable. They were also drawn to how different and exciting these restaurants were. Among all the people and foods Jewish immigrants met in America, the Chinese and their food seemed the most "un-Jewish" or foreign.

Many Jewish people felt that eating in Chinese restaurants helped them be more open-minded and less focused only on their own culture.

People who grew up in New York after the first Eastern European Jewish immigrants wanted to be seen as modern and worldly New Yorkers. Eating in a place that was "un-Jewish" made them feel sophisticated. These restaurants had interesting wallpaper, unique decorations, chopsticks, and exotic-sounding food names, which added to their appeal.

Chinese Food and Kosher Rules

Chinese food made it easier for Jewish people to try non-kosher foods while still respecting some of their traditions. Chinese cooking is very good for Jewish tastes because, unlike almost any other food available in America, traditional Chinese cooking rarely uses milk products. Because kosher rules say you can't mix meat with dairy, Jewish people could order meat dishes in a Chinese restaurant without worrying about cheese or other dairy, which is common in other foods like Italian.

While many first-generation Jewish immigrants in America strictly followed kashrut (kosher laws) all the time, many second-generation Jewish people were strict at home but more flexible when eating out.

Chinese food helped them feel okay about this choice because the ingredients are often cut, chopped, and minced. This process, called ko p'eng in ancient Chinese texts, made ingredients like pork, shrimp, or lobster less visible. For example, pork might be hidden inside wontons, which look similar to Jewish kreplach (dumplings). This made it feel like a "safe" way to eat non-kosher food.

Eventually, this led many Jewish people born in the U.S. to stop following kashrut altogether, seeing it as old-fashioned. Breaking these rules by eating Chinese food allowed the younger generation to show their independence and feel more modern and open-minded.

It's worth noting that in America, there are also Chinese restaurants that fully follow kashrut laws. These places are carefully watched by rabbis to make sure they are kosher.

Cultural Importance

The connection between Jewish people and Chinese food is more than just a common idea. Eating Chinese food has become an important symbol of being Jewish in America. By eating Chinese food, Jewish people found a modern way to show their traditional values. Enjoying Chinese food is now a special celebration of immigration, learning, family, community, and continuing traditions. Chinese food is considered a basic part of Jewish culture, and more kosher Chinese food options are becoming available in the U.S.

Michael Tong, who owns Shun Lee Palace, a famous Chinese restaurant, talked about this in a 2003 interview with The New York Times. He said that on Christmas in New York, most restaurants are closed or offer fancy, expensive meals. This leaves thousands of diners, mostly Jewish, with a problem: there's nothing special to celebrate at home, and no regular places to eat out. That's where Chinese restaurants come in!