VIDEO: Funny skit of Jewish diners at a Chinese restaurant on Christmas
Photo by YidLife Crisis
By Rukhl Schaechter December 21, 2022
In this hilarious episode of the online comedy series, YidLife Crisis, Jamie Elman and Eli Batalion go through the familiar Jewish ritual of eating out in a Chinese restaurant on Christmas.
Why has this become such an ingrained tradition? It’s often attributed to the fact that Jews and Chinese lived in close proximity (e.g. Chinatown is right next to the Lower East Side of Manhattan) and because Chinese restaurants were the only eateries open on Christmas Day.
In this clip, called “Yingl Belz,” Chaimie (played by Elman), looks for deeper meaning in this ritual. Leizer (Batalion) thinks Chaimie is being ridiculous. As the argument gets heated, the hapless waiter gets caught in the middle.
A message from Forverts editor Rukhl Schaechter
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you move on, I wanted to ask you to support the Forverts' 127-year legacy — and its bright future.
In the past, the goal of the Forverts was to Americanize its readers, to encourage them to learn English well and to acculturate to American society. Today, our goal is the reverse: to acquaint readers — especially those with Eastern European roots — with their Jewish cultural heritage, through the Yiddish language, literature, recipes and songs.
Our daily Yiddish content brings you new and creative ways to engage with this vibrant, living language, including Yiddish Wordle, Word of the Day videos, Yiddish cooking demos, new music, poetry and so much more.
— Rukhl Schaechter, Yiddish Editor
