Chinese Food on Christmas 圣誕節吃中國菜

陳思羽選譯

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.

提起圣誕節，我們常常想起圣誕樹、圣誕老人、禮物這些與圣誕節相關的事物。但在美國，人們有一個不太“圣誕節”的傳統習俗——許多美國人會在圣誕節光顧中餐館。

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.

美國人在圣誕節去中餐館有兩個原因。一是除了中餐館外，幾乎沒有餐館會在圣誕節營業。大多數在美生活的中國人都不是基督徒，所以他們不過圣誕節?，F在，全美已有4萬多家中餐館，麥當勞在美國也只有1萬4千多家門店。谷歌趨勢發現，比起平時，更多人在圣誕節那一周搜索“營業的中餐館”。

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.

另一個原因是有的人不過圣誕節。美國是一個“大熔爐”，美國人都有圣誕假期，但不是所有美國人都會慶祝圣誕節。圣誕節吃中餐的傳統起源于19世紀末的紐約市。圣誕節那天，來自其他非基督教文化的人發現，他們有時間和家人相處了，卻不知道該做些什么。在19世紀末，中國人和猶太人在紐約市中住得很近。猶太人喜歡美味的中國菜，而且比起其他餐廳，他們在中餐廳更自在。現在，很多美國猶太人會在圣誕節光顧中餐館。甚至還有人為猶太人在圣誕節吃中國菜寫了首歌。

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.

圣誕節是美國所有中餐館最忙碌的日子。現在，不僅是猶太人，其他美國人也會在圣誕節吃中餐。比起在廚房做飯，他們可能更想好好享受圣誕節。對于很多美國人來說，圣誕節吃中餐是宣揚美國文化大熔爐的一種方式。

（英語原文選自：chilihousesf.comnytimes.com）

Notes

1. Santa Claus ?n. 圣誕老人

2. tradition ?n. 傳統習俗

3. reason ?n. 原因

4. Christian ?n. 基督徒

5. celebrate ?v. 慶祝;贊揚;宣揚???????? 6. search ?v. 搜索

7. melting pot ?n. 大熔爐

8. Jew ?n. 猶太人

9. comfortable ?adj. 舒服的

10. cultural ?adj. 文化的