Chinese Food on Christmas 圣诞节吃中国菜

陈思羽选译

When we talk about Christmas， we often think of many Christmas things， such as Christmas trees， Santa Claus1， and gifts. However， in the United States， there is a not so “Christmas” tradition2： Many people go out to eat in Chinese restaurants on Christmas.

提起圣誕节，我们常常想起圣诞树、圣诞老人、礼物这些与圣诞节相关的事物。但在美国，人们有一个不太“圣诞节”的传统习俗——许多美国人会在圣诞节光顾中餐馆。

Americans eat at Chinese restaurants on Christmas for two reasons3. One is that almost no other restaurants are open on Christmas. Most Chinese people in the U.S. are not Christians4， so they do not celebrate5 Christmas. Now， there are over 40，000 Chinese restaurants in the United States. McDonalds has just over 14，000 restaurants. Google Trends has found that more people search6 for “Chinese restaurant open” during the week of Christmas than any other week of the year.

美国人在圣诞节去中餐馆有两个原因。一是除了中餐馆外，几乎没有餐馆会在圣诞节营业。大多数在美生活的中国人都不是基督徒，所以他们不过圣诞节。现在，全美已有4万多家中餐馆，麦当劳在美国也只有1万4千多家门店。谷歌趋势发现，比起平时，更多人在圣诞节那一周搜索“营业的中餐馆”。

The other reason is that some people do not celebrate Christmas. The United States is a “melting pot”7. People in the United States all have a Christmas holiday， but not all of them celebrate Christmas. The tradition started in New York City in the late 1800s. On Christmas Day， people from other cultures found they had time to spend with family， but they did not know what to do. Back in the 19th century， the Chinese and Jews8 lived side by side in New York City. Jews liked the delicious Chinese food. And they felt more comfortable9 at Chinese restaurants than at other restaurants. Today， many Jews in America go out for Chinese food on Christmas. Someone even wrote a song about Jews eating Chinese food on Christmas.

另一个原因是有的人不过圣诞节。美国是一个“大熔炉”，美国人都有圣诞假期，但不是所有美国人都会庆祝圣诞节。圣诞节吃中餐的传统起源于19世纪末的纽约市。圣诞节那天，来自其他非基督教文化的人发现，他们有时间和家人相处了，却不知道该做些什么。在19世纪末，中国人和犹太人在纽约市中住得很近。犹太人喜欢美味的中国菜，而且比起其他餐厅，他们在中餐厅更自在。现在，很多美国犹太人会在圣诞节光顾中餐馆。甚至还有人为犹太人在圣诞节吃中国菜写了首歌。

Christmas Day is the busiest day for Chinese restaurants around the country. Now， not only Jews but also other people have joined to eat Chinese food on Christmas. Maybe they want to enjoy the holiday than cook in the kitchen. For many Americans， enjoying Chinese food is a way to celebrate the great American cultural10 melting pot.

圣诞节是美国所有中餐馆最忙碌的日子。现在，不仅是犹太人，其他美国人也会在圣诞节吃中餐。比起在厨房做饭，他们可能更想好好享受圣诞节。对于很多美国人来说，圣诞节吃中餐是宣扬美国文化大熔炉的一种方式。

（英语原文选自：chilihousesf.comnytimes.com）

Notes

1. Santa Claus  n. 圣诞老人

2. tradition  n. 传统习俗

3. reason  n. 原因

4. Christian  n. 基督徒

5. celebrate  v. 庆祝;赞扬;宣扬         6. search  v. 搜索

7. melting pot  n. 大熔炉

8. Jew  n. 犹太人

9. comfortable  adj. 舒服的

10. cultural  adj. 文化的