11月5日「全国中餐外卖日」：从淘金热时期的旧金山说起的中餐外卖史
每年11月5日是民间流传的「全国中餐外卖日」（National Chinese Takeout Day）。这个纪念日的确切起源与创立者已无从考证，并非官方节日，但它所纪念的中餐外卖传统，是美国饮食文化里历史最悠久的外来风味之一。
美国中餐馆的源头可追溯到19世纪中叶的加州淘金热。1849年前后，华人移民开始在旧金山开餐馆；华人社区领袖 Norman Asing 在 Kearny 街与 Commercial 街一带开设餐馆，一美元任食，被一些史料视为美国最早的中餐馆之一。1882年《排华法案》通过后，华人移民受限，中餐馆却逐渐成为许多华人家庭在美谋生的主要途径。1894年，折叠纸盒（oyster pail）取得专利，后来成为中餐外卖的标志性包装。到1980年，中餐已成为全美最受欢迎的外来菜系。
（来源：National Dates）
National Chinese Takeout Day, November 5: a Gold Rush-era tradition in America
November 5 is observed each year as National Chinese Takeout Day. The day's exact origin and founder are undocumented and it is not an official holiday, but the takeout tradition it celebrates is one of the oldest immigrant foodways in American life.
Chinese restaurants in America trace back to the California Gold Rush of the mid-1800s. Around 1849, Chinese immigrants began opening eateries in San Francisco; community leader Norman Asing ran a restaurant near Kearny and Commercial streets charging one dollar for an all-you-can-eat meal, listed in some accounts among America's first Chinese restaurants. After the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 restricted immigration, restaurants became a main livelihood for many Chinese families. The folded paper oyster pail, patented in 1894, later became the iconic takeout container. By 1980, Chinese food had become the most popular ethnic cuisine in the United States.
(Source: National Dates)
来源：National Dates
发布：GSM·美国（发布链接）
图片来源：中餐外卖纸盒（图：Wikimedia Commons，CC BY-SA 2.0） / A Chinese takeout oyster pail (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0)
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