Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Yiddish World

VIDEO: Funny skit of Jewish diners at a Chinese restaurant on Christmas

In this YidLife episode, comics Jamie Elman and Eli Batalion can’t agree on why this Jewish ritual is so popular

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 our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.