Culinary Christmas - December 2: Chinese Food for Christmas

Featured Foods: Chinese food, latkes

So, let's say to decide to have a Steve's 25 Days of Christmas Music theme around food. Just how would you go about finding such music? At first I did a search of my existing Christmas music library (all 18GB of it) for songs with obvious references to food in their titles. But that only gets you so far. So eventually you start searching the Web with phrases like "Christmas food songs" and the like. Searches like that brought me to today's song, Chinese Food on Christmas.

This song was written in 2004 by a fella named Brandon Walker, who authored it for a songwriting class at James Madison University. In 2006, he recorded himself playing the song on piano and uploaded it to YouTube (Watch here). It turned into a pretty popular video, generated hundreds of thousands of views. The following year, he put together a professionally shot music video and again stuck that on YouTube (Click to view). This is what really put him over the top, as the song now has 1.7 million views. And that's the version that we're featuring today on the 25 Days.

While I'm not Jewish — but have great respect for Kosher Coke — I found this song fun and catchy. Hopefully, you'll feel that was as well! Here are the lyrics so you can follow along:

Santa doesn't come down my chimney
Or leave presents under my tree
He's made his list and he's checked it twice
But nowhere on there was me.

It's not that I've been naughty
I'm a real good kid, I swear
There’s just something you should know about me
Something I'd like to share

I eat Chinese food on Christmas
Go to the movie theater, too
'Cause there just ain't much else to do on Christmas
When you're a Jew

When you're out with your family
Getting ready for the big day
I'm at home playing dreidel
And eating latkes that Bubbe made

No I'm not dreaming of a white Christmas
It’s not that I don't like snow (I love snow)
It's just if we were all snowed in on Christmas
I'd have no place to go.

Play The Song

Download The Song

• Brandon Walker – Chinese Food on Christmas (Released 2006, 3:19, 4.8 MB)
  (Right-click and Save)

From the Archives: December 2

• 2002:
  • It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas by Perry Como
  • Silver Bells by John Davidson
• 2003: Holly Jolly Christmas from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
• 2004: Gloria by Appalachian Christmas Quartet
• 2005: Be A Santa by Living Voices
• 2006: Christmas Time Blues by Na Leo Pilimehana
• 2007: Shake Hands With Santa Claus by Louis Prima
• 2008:
  • Jingle Bells by Lena Horne
  • Jingle Bells by The Partridge Family
• 2009: Hawaiian Santa by The Surfers

What's This All About?
New to Steve's 25 Days of Christmas Music? Take some time to read the explanation and introduction!