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What Is the Tradition Behind Fortune Cookies?

What Is the Tradition Behind Fortune Cookies? thumbnail
Fortune cookies are a Chinese and American tradition.

Fortune cookies got their big break in the United States during the Gold Rush. Yet, folklore surrounding fortune cookies dates back to ancient China.

  1. History

    • Moon cakes are the earliest known predecessors of modern-day fortune cookies. In China, 13th- and 14th-century revolutionaries put messages inside moon cakes to spread their message and to gain support for uprisings. Such uprisings led to the birth of the Ming Dynasty.

    Significance

    • During the 1860s, Chinese workers building California railroads shared fortune cookies at Chinese festivals. From that point on, in the United States, fortune cookies replaced traditional Chinese festival cakes.

    Industry

    • Until the 1960s, fortune cookies were made by hand and thus considered a cottage industry. Automated fortune cookie production did not begin in the United States until 1964.

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References

  • Photo Credit furtune cookie image by William Berry from Fotolia.com

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