The narrative takes place on Christmas eve, when the author was 14 years old. Her Chinese family had invited American friends, a minister's family including a boy Tan has a crush on, for a traditional Chinese dinner.[1] At this point in the story her name is not yet mentioned. She becomes upset when she learns the news because she is afraid of what his white American family will think of their Chinese Christmas.[8] When the action of the story starts to rise and her mother begins to prepare for the dinner, Amy's worries continue to grow and all of the usual foods that her family makes become foreign as the kitchen is filled with appalling mounds of raw food.[2][3]