Chinese Americans enrich American holidays with little touches of their own culture.
Holidays that celebrate autumn’s harvest in the spirit of gratitude are found all over the world too, yet in the U.S, Chinese communities add their own flavor to Thanksgiving meal preparations.
Chinese instructor Francis Lai said depending on the level of assimilation experienced by Chinese-American families, recipes might differ from the traditional prepared Thanksgiving meals, but most will get the family together for a grand meal on Thanksgiving.
“Many Chinese families stuff Turkeys with sticky rice,” Lai said.
If you walk into any Chinese market in California and order a Thanksgiving meal from the deli you will get turkey, but don’t expect potatoes or cranberry sauce.
A Chinese American Thanksgiving meal will most likely include fried rice, chow mein or both. You’ll also get some stir-fried seafood, prawns or crab if you’re lucky.
As for dessert, don’t expect traditional American apple pie. You’ll likely get decorated sweets made with red beans. Marina supermarket, located blocks away from De Anza, encourages curious partakers to check out a Chinese Thanksgiving meal at their deli.
Even for Chinese communities in Asia, holidays that give thanks for a fall harvest can strike a resemblance to American Thanksgiving.
The rural villages in Southern Taiwan celebrate a holiday called Xie Ping Ahn, “the ritual of giving thanks for peace.” Celebrated near Nov. 15, entire villages hold ceremonies during the day and give thanks to traditional Taoist deities for the bountiful harvest of the year, according to Mandarin department chair Hua-Fu Liu.
At night, Liu said, the people put on banquets in the streets and everyone would feast in a big block party atmosphere. “This tradition is mostly in the countryside.” Liu said, unlike the way Thanksgiving is celebrated everywhere in the U.S.
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