For some, Chinese food is what's on the menu Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve, more folks are opting for egg foo young and fortune cookies.

In recent years, as people’s lives have become busier, eating Chinese food the night before Christmas has become more of an American tradition.

“More people don’t want to cook Christmas Eve,” said Michael Cheng, who owns Chen’s Restaurant in Shelby. “They have to prepare a big meal on Christmas day.”

Cheng has owned Chen’s Restaurant, at 209 W. Dixon Blvd., for more than 25 years. During that time, he’s noticed an uptick in the number of customers he has on Christmas Eve each year. It’s allowed him to see the children of his regular customers grow from children to young adults to grown-ups with kids of their own.

“For lots of people, it’s become a tradition that they look forward to every year,” said Cheng, who also decorates his restaurant with lights, wreaths and a Christmas tree during the holiday season.

For many Jewish Americans, eating Chinese food at Christmastime is a cultural tradition dating back more than half a century, as for years Chinese restaurants were some of the only restaurants to maintain regular hours Christmas Eve or open their doors on Christmas day.

The classic holiday film “A Christmas Story” helped broaden the appeal of feasting on Chinese around the holiday. In the movie, young Ralphie Parker’s family ate at a Chinese restaurant after a neighbor’s dogs found their way into their kitchen and destroyed their Christmas meal. But unlike Ralphie’s family, several people opt for Chinese food at Christmas because it’s what they want, not because it’s their only option.

Many are looking for something different, said Jenny Mok, who owns Sumo Express at 1007 E. Franklin Blvd. in Gastonia. Mok formerly owned Hsia (pronounced shaw) Chinese Restaurant on South New Hope Road in Gastonia and brought the same chef and staff with her in her new venture.

Sumo Express, which has been open for just over a month, won’t be open Dec. 25th (neither will Cheng’s eatery), but Mok said business always picked up around Christmas at her old place. Businesspeople would come in for holiday parties at lunch and the same families would show up each year for dinner.

“They come in and have Chinese food before the turkey the next day,” Mok said. “On Christmas day, you’re up early in the morning. You just want a chance to relax and take a break and enjoy Christmas day.”

Sitting down to – or placing a take-out order for – some chicken lo mein or moo goo gai pan also offers a reprieve those who wait until Christmas Eve to do their shopping, said Eddie Lam, the manager at Peking Garden, located in the busy Franklin Square retail center in Gastonia.

“If you’re out doing last-minute shopping you don’t have time to cook,” Lam said.