What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say?

Learn More About Fortune Cookie Wisdom

Fortune cookies have become a beloved, if lighthearted, American dining tradition, offering bite-sized bits of wisdom or humor at the end of a meal, despite having only loose ties to actual Chinese culture.

Some fortunes offer a wake-up-call warning about reality catching up. Others promise a rocky but ultimately fulfilling road ahead. Some emphasize accepting hardship as the price of something worthwhile. Others speak to overcoming unfounded fear, while some carry a gentle warning against complacency after success.

Fortune cookies actually originated in early 20th-century California and Japan rather than China, making them a distinctly Americanized dining tradition.

Whichever fortune matches your outlook, it's a fun, bite-sized piece of wisdom to carry with you.