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Utah Jews gather at Chinese restaurant on Christmas Eve

Posted at 12:25 PM, Dec 25, 2014
and last updated 2014-12-25 18:38:55-05

MIDVALE, Utah -- Local members of the Jewish community gathered on Christmas Eve to enjoy a dinner at a Chinese restaurant, and the group hopes to make the meal an annual tradition.

About 65 Jewish people of all ages enjoyed a dinner at the Asian Star Restaurant in Midvale.

The group is calling themselves the Beechais--Bee for the Beehive State, and chai because it is the word for "life" in Hebrew. And for Seinfeld fans, yes, it is like that episode.

“It’s a Seinfeld joke,” said Dganit Herzig, who was among those who attended. “It's a New York, East Coast or maybe West Coast, San Francisco, L.A.… this is what Jews do on Christmas Eve, we go out for Chinese. So we're bringing that tradition to Utah now.”

The Beechais are part of the United Jewish Federation of Utah.

This is the first year they've had an organized Christmas Eve dinner, but participants said they hope the tradition continues for years to come.