Asians Certainly Make Use Of Every Inch

Ahh the Holidays, a time of caring and sharing. If you work, you’re likely getting Christmas and New Years, or even the whole week off. If you’re in school, nothing beats a two week winter break does it? No really, does it? Because I have not the slightest idea what having a winter break feels like. Those two weeks reserved for shopping, freedom to do nothing, and fun — Yeah, not for me. I spent my winter break days at my moms typical all-purpose-Chinese-run stores that sell everything from tube socks to those flashing fluorescent Jesus clocks.

Chinese/Asian Stores Stay Open Year Round

I’ve personally never seen a ”Closed For Christmas” on any Asian store in my lifetime. Heck, it’s not even a secret that the Asians stay open over the Holidays. In the 1983 American classic A Christmas Story, of course the only restaurant open on Christmas was a Chinese Restaurant sensitively named “Chop Suey Palace” that served ‘Chinese Turkey’ (It’s called Peking Duck buddy).

Within that Christmas Story ending scene itself, there’s a few aspects I’d like to go off on: The broken English “Fa Ra Ra” Christmas carol or the 1920s Chinese opium den outfits they had the workers wear. But whatever, the film was made in 1983 after all.

My Mom's Store In San Francisco (From Google Maps)

Anyway, it perfectly makes sense that Asian stores stay open over the holidays. Like all other groups of people that immigrated to America, Asians faced historic discrimination and various barriers to entry into traditional careers and professions. So what did most of these Asians do instead? They kept to the capitalist entrepreneurial American spirit. Asians have in turn opened their own businesses: Corner stores, clothing stores, restaurants, construction, cleaners, heck even the burrito truck down the block from my house is run by an Asian dude. Where in 2002 alone, Asian owned businesses in the United States grossed over $326 billion in revenue.

Certainly, with such a strong concentration in retail and the restaurant business, the holiday seasons are the busiest and most profitable times for Asian owned businesses. People need to buy gifts and have time off from traditional professions for family and friends to eat out.

If you’re like me and your parents run one of these all-purpose stores or a restaurant and likely stick you and the rest of your family to work there over the Holidays, I feel your pain. But hey, with the Holidays, it is nevertheless a time for family. Who’s to judge that time spent busing tables and folding 5 for $10 San Francisco tourist T-Shirts doesn’t share in the same Holiday spirit.

Happy Holidays to you all and I wish you the best to whatever you celebrate.

And of course, the famous ending scene to A Christmas Story…