Today is National Chopstick Day. Another great day to celebrate in February. So today may not be a big deal for ¼ of the world’s population who use chopsticks as the eating utensils of choice for every meal, but for the rest of us, we should put away the forks and spoons for today and use chopsticks for all our meals.
The improper use of chopsticks, just like any eating utensil is in poor taste and could possibly even be considered impolite or insulting. One should never insert chopsticks upright into your food — it’s an insult. It’s okay to stab a piece of food with a chopstick, but don’t point at people with them. And don’t suck or chew on the ends of your chopsticks. Also, it goes without saying, chopsticks are not drumsticks — don’t drum with them.
A Chinese word for chopsticks is kuaizi — which, roughly translated, means quick little bamboo fellow. The English word “chopstick” was apparently derived from the Chinese Pidgin English words “chop chop” — which means fast. Chopsticks are called hashi in Japan.
Chopsticks are traditionally held in the right hand, even by left-handed people, but today it’s acceptable to use either hand — even though traditionalists still consider left-handed chopstick use “improper.” If everyone uses chopstick in their right hand, it prevents a left-handed chopstick user from accidentally elbowing a right-handed user seated nearby. Of course, the same argument can be made when using a fork.
So happy National Chopstick Day!! However, I do wonder about the “national” part of the title. In this case, is the “national” referring to the U.S.? Seems like China and/or other Asian countries might be more appropriate…. but what the heck, it’s still an occasion to celebrate in February, and I’m going to take advantage of it.
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