Jewish people enjoying Chinese food on Christmas Day has a long history not only in the United States and Canada, but throughout the diaspora.
Chinese restaurant owners seem to have no complaints about this tradition either; as one New York Chinese restaurant owner reported, “I think on that day we do more business than many restaurants do in three months. We serve all day long; we stay open all day long.”
So while the gentiles are enjoying elaborate Christmas meals, here is a song capturing Jewish culinary preferences for this particular day on the calendar.
| Santa doesn’t come down my chimney |
| Or leave presents under my tree |
| He’s made his list and he’s checked it twice |
| But nowhere on there was me. |
| It’s not that I’ve been naughty |
| I’m a real good kid, I swear |
| There’s just something you should know about me |
| Something I’d like to share |
| I eat Chinese food on Christmas |
| Go to the movie theater, too |
| ‘Cause there just ain’t much else to do on Christmas |
| When you’re a Jew |
| When you’re out with your family |
| Getting ready for the big day |
| I’m at home playing dreidel |
| And eating latkes that Bubbe made |
| No I’m not dreaming of a white Christmas |
| It’s not that I don’t like snow (I love snow) |
| It’s just if we were all snowed in on Christmas |
| I’d have no place to go. |
| We eat Chinese food on Christmas |
| Go to the movie theater, too |
| ‘Cause there just ain’t much else to do on Christmas |
| When you’re a Jew |
