Why Jewish Christmas and Chinese food go hand in hand

In my family, the perfect Christmas dinner isn’t ham or roast turkey. It’s a steamer basket full of tender, juicy xiao long bao (soup dumplings). Add that to a table with other staples of Chinese American cuisine – like wonton soup, beef and broccoli, and General Tso’s chicken – and it’s a feast fit for the holiday season.

Jews and Christmas – this combination has manifested in a host of unique practices that differ from those of the majority. Jewish families don’t celebrate Christmas, at least not in the traditional way. Everyone from Jerry Seinfeld to associate justice of the Supreme Court Elena Kagan has joked about the American-Jewish tradition of eating Chinese food on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day – it’s part of the modern Jewish identity.

Jewish and Chinese immigrants landed in New York, United States around the turn of the last century. The former hailed from Eastern Europe and settled on the Lower East Side; the latter came from Asia via California and settled in a nearby district that is now Chinatown. Some establishments barred Jews, but Chinese restaurants welcomed all diners.

Chinese eateries are open at Christmas, and Chinese food is made from some of the same ingredients Jews recognise from their own cuisine, like garlic, celery and onions. Plus, the cuisine rarely mixes meat and dairy, a combination which isn’t kosher (complying with traditional Jewish guidelines). Nor are pork and shellfish kosher but restaurants swap them for other ingredients.

It’s a beautiful thing: two vastly different immigrant populations, thrown together by chance in their new home, supporting one another. As it’s not a Jewish holiday, the Jews, without anywhere to go, have a delicious Christmas meal with friends and family for their day off; the Chinese restaurant owners have full cash registers at the end of the night.

Imagine bundling up and stepping out into a crisp evening on December 25, flooding into Joe’s Shanghai (my family’s restaurant of choice), a casual joint like Tasty Hand-Pulled Noodles or a more upscale outpost like Hwa Yuan . The windows fog up with the warmth inside and the hum of conversation, everyone delighting in the Christmas tree-lined streets, the city slowing down to enjoy a moment of togetherness and celebration. I can’t think of anything better.