Have you ever eaten a fortune cookie? If you're ever been to a chinese restaurant, the answer is almost certainly yes! Most people who have eaten in Chinese restaurant have tried these cookies and have read the fortunes on the little pieces of paper inside them. Sometime there is a prediction,sometimes advice,and sometimes a lucky number.We usually laugh at the fortunes, leave them on our plates, and forget about them. However, not everyone ignores these messages. In fact,a surprising number of people have won lottery money with numbers from fortune cookies! Has a prediction from a fortune cookie ever come true for you?
and what about the origin of this popular tradition? Have you ever wondered where fortune cookies started? They obviously come from China, right? Wrong! In fact, many people in china have never heard of fortune cookies. There are several different theories about the origin of the cookies, and many researchers think they are an American invention that started in California after World war ll. However,a Japanese researcher, Yasuko Nakamachi, believes that fortune cookies have their
origin in her country.She says that bakeries near a temple outside the city of kyoto have produced similar cookies with little messages for many generations, and she has found many references to fortune cookies in Japanese history and literature. It is possible that the custom traveled to California with Japanese immigrants in the 19th Century.
so why do we get fortune cookies in Chinese restaurants and not japanese restaurants? Ms.Nakamachi thinks it's because in the 1920s and 30s, many Japanese families in Cailfornia owned chop suey restaurants and served Americanized Chinese food. So it seems that fortune cookies are actually a Japanese -Chinese-American invention!