new year's quencher

In what she calls a “rush of freedom” for she and fellow “MOTs” (Members of the Tribe), Kalman says Christmas can be “the most wonderful time of the year” for Jewish people and those who don’t celebrate the Christian holiday.

“Primo seats to the hottest movies? Check!” she says. “Easy parking and no line at the Chinese and Indian restaurants? Double check!”

But for the Kalmans and other North Shore familiess, the Chinese food and movie ritual on Christmas is about more than finding a way to entertain themselves when most stores and restaurants are closed.

It’s a tradition that began more than a century ago on New York’s Lower East Side, back in the days where Jewish and Chinese immigrants were the largest non-Christian population.

“There are some serious reasons why Jews have made it a custom to go to Chinese restaurants on this Christian holiday,” the North Shore’s own Rabbi Cantor Nancy Landsman told a North Shore Weekend reporter in 2016. “The decade of the 1880s saw over a million and a half Jews immigrating to the United States. Many Chinese moved to the cities, creating ‘Chinatowns’ that often butted up against Jewish neighborhoods.”

According to Landsman, who founded Glenview’s Ahavat Olam in 2012, “the Chinese food of the time, Chow Mein and Chop Suey, contained an amalgam of ingredients with which Jews were familiar, such as onions, garlic, celery, and other vegetables. Even pork and shrimp were often disguised in the heavily chopped concoctions served to Jewish diners. Pork, wrapped and hidden in a wonton, reminded Jews of their mother’s kreplach.”

S. L. Wisenberg, a Chicago area author with ties to the North Shore, says like with many other things in Jewish culture, it’s all about the food.

“Going to the movies on Christmas Day is part of Jewish tradition, though it’s not a constant. But Christmas Eve in Chinatown— that's sacred,” explains Wisenberg, whose Jewish-inflected The Wandering Womb: Essays In Search of Home will be published in March. “It has become so much my tradition that the other day I was part of a group choosing dates for a Hanukkah party and I wrote that Christmas Eve was out because that date is reserved for Chinatown.”

While it’s easy to see how the tradition began back in late 19th century New York—two groups of marginalized immigrants finding common ground in good food and community—what might be even more inspiring is how it has been carried on through the generations.

Rabbi Cantor Landsman has said that part of it may be that the Chinese had no history of anti-Semitism. And yet, it’s more than that.

“Eating Chinese on Christmas is something that still helps preserve group bonds by encouraging socialization and bonding of several generations of family members who sit together at the round table,” she adds.

Wisenberg, who explores her own “Jewishness” in her latest work, agrees,

“What makes a tradition? Repetition is one element,” she says. “The people who come with us change slightly each year. People go out of town, make other plans. Over the years the group has included two different rabbis, one Reform and one Reconstructionist, and by now we have shared memories of the different ways that Lao Sze Chuan has set things up for Christmas Eve.”

One year there was a tent for the lingering crowds to wait outside. A few other times, the manager did tricks with a sword. Then there was 2020, when even a global pandemic couldn’t stop the tradition.

“We got carryout Chinese food and ate while Zooming with friends from Evanston who'd become part of our Christmas Eve tradition,” explains Wisenberg.

Kalman says their family’s “Jewish Christmas” has similarly expanded and evolved over the years to include friends and “adoptees” they pick up along the way.

“Along with my husband Gregg and our daughters, Ellie and Ava, we meet up with the Greenberg and Cott families whom we befriended through multiple generations attending Harand Camp of the Theater Arts,” says Kalman, laughing. “If you are wondering what dining at a huge table of theater people is like, I can highly recommend it as long as you like laughing, and sometimes singing with your meal.”

In the end, it all comes back to the MOTs, and sharing something that is uniquely your own.

As Rabbi Joshua Plaut wrote in his book, A Kosher Christmas: ‘Tis The Season To Be Jewish, “Chinese restaurants became a favorite eatery for Jews who emigrated from Eastern Europe to the United States and to New York City, in particular, in the early 20th century. It was a happy coincidence that Chinese restaurants stayed open on Christmas Eve, thus giving Jews across the United States a natural venue in which to partake of their own versions of Christmas dinner. ‘Eating Chinese’ on Christmas soon became a national sensation that defined Christmastime activity for Jews all over the United States.”

Growing up, Wisenberg recalls the “otherness” she felt when attending Christmas services with friends.

“In those cases, you're welcome but you're definitely an outsider,” she explains. “You go to a Chinese restaurant on Christmas Eve, you're definitely comfortably ensconced in your own tradition. And you're eating great food.”

Kalman hopes her daughters will carry on the Jewish Christmas they’ve enjoyed through the generations.

“Our kids are now older, and it has been such a joy to watch them grow into such interesting, warm, hilarious young adults,” she says. “I hope as they eventually create families of their own, they will continue the tradition and save some seats for us elders—and maybe even regale us with a few show-tunes for old times' sake.”

THE PURITAN

If you are already a martini lover, this neglected classic is where you should go next. The dot of yellow chartreuse give it a very subtle hint of herb that brings a whole new dimension to the drink. For best results, make sure it’s served in an ice-glazed coupe straight from the freezer.

2 ounces gin ½ ounce extra dry vermouth 1 teaspoon yellow chartreuse 1 dash orange bitters

Glass: Coupe Garnish: Orange

Stir in all ingredients with ice and strain into glass.