Can you get Chinese food on Christmas?

(Photo by Steven Depolo/Flickr Creative Commons)
(Photo by Steven Depolo/Flickr Creative Commons)

If you’re not into Christmas, what’s there do to on Christmas Day in Juneau?

A common tradition for Americans who don’t observe Christmas – Jews and secular Chinese especially — is to patronize the two businesses that are invariably open on Dec. 25: Chinese restaurants and movie theaters.

Well, almost invariably.

Twin Lakes Café and all the other Chinese, Japanese and Thai restaurants in Juneau will be closed Christmas day along with most everything else, though the Goldtown Nickelodeon and the Gross-Alaska Theatres will be open. That means musician Brandon Walker would only be able to fulfill half of the chorus of his YouTube hit, “Chinese Food on Christmas.”

Members of Congregation Sukkat Shalom, Southeast’s only synagogue, will volunteer as cooks and servers at the Glory Hole’s Christmas dinner, as they have for many years running, says organizer Bev Ingram.

“That is a tradition for our Jewish community here, yes, yes,” Ingram said.

This year, Ingram expects to serve a sit-down style dinner to about 100 people. The food is donated by local markets. And Chinese food is not on the menu.

Jeremy Hsieh

Local News Reporter, KTOO

I dig into questions about the forces and institutions that shape Juneau, big and small, delightful and outrageous. What stirs you up about how Juneau is built and how the city works?

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