Merry (Jewish) Christmas!

In the grand tradition of Jews unattached to non-Jews on Christmas, I spent the day at the movies and eating Chinese food with my parents. We have been going to the movies on Christmas day since way back when my mom, sister and me saw The Little Mermaid (1989). That first year has been hard to beat, but we have come close with gems like Little Women (1994), Anna and the King(1999) and Juno (2007). There have been misses, Kate and Leopold (2001) for one, but it is usually a really nice way to spend the day. We recently added in the Chinese food, because my dad has started coming along.

This year, I picked Slumdog Millionaire because I had heard great things about it, both from critics and friends. The movie is about an orphaned boy who is on the Indian Who Wants to be a Millionaire? It takes place in present day Mumbai with flashbacks to the boy's troubled childhood. This is an inspiring movie, but you have to be ready to deal with the shit (literally, you'll see what I mean) that he and his brother go through as they try to make their way in various slums of India. I won't go into anymore detail, but the music is awesome and there's a fabulous Bollywood-esque dance number at the end.

We finished off the evening at Cathay 22 in Springfield, NJ. Cocktails, a pupu platter (spare ribs were awesome), orange crispy chicken and a shrimp dish made for some great Jewish Christmas eats. I don't even think Ralphie and his family could have that one beat...

BTW...

My favorite Christmas movie is It's a Wonderful Life and I'm so glad that NBC put it on tv on Christmas Eve night. If I don't get choked up everytime Harry Bailey comes into George's house and says, "A toast to my brother George, the richest man in town," there's something VERY wrong.

Happy Hanukah/Merry Christmas!

~MissMet