Holiday spirit is in the air, as people prepare to have a warm and pleasant Christmas, if they celebrate it. Since Christmas in Japan is quite different from most other countries, I thought I’d write a post about what it means to the Japanese, in real terms.
The rise of Christmas in Japan is probably similar to the way Halloween has become massive in countries around the world, even places that didn’t have the tradition even 25 years ago. Because its a recent import, Christmas in Japan can feel somewhat unique compared with other countries.
Christmas is About… Going to Work?
I’ll never forget my first Christmas in Japan, sitting in a traffic jam as I headed to my eikaiwa school to teach English conversation to my students. While going to work on December 25th would be unthinkable to most people in the West, in Japan, it isn’t a holiday for companies, although most schools have entered their winter break by this time.
A Time to Have a Special Dinner with Family…and KFC?
As with European countries, the real magic happens on Christmas Eve, rather than December 25th. In our family, we’d generally have a special Christmas eve dinner, perhaps picking up a chicken from Costco, although we’ve recently been substituting Peruvian pollo a la brasa (a popular ethnic food in Japan).
Why do the Japanese eat Kentucky Fried Chicken for Christmas? KFC Japan was formed as a joint venture between the American chain and the Mitsubishi conglomerate in 1970. Sales were slow until a restaurant manager in Kobe was asked to dress as Santa and bring friend chicken for the Christmas party at a local school. Soon, this generated buzz for the company, and Japanese families started eating KFC for Christmas “just like they do in America.” Before he died, Harlan Sanders visited Japan to attend a store opening and knew he would be immortalized forever through life-sized statues.
Did you see the good news? Colonel Sanders has been found alive and well and living in Japan. Blog post here!
Christmas in Japan is for Lovers
The most important day for lovers to plan a special date is Valentine’s Day, but the second most important day is December 24th. Restaurants are filled with people enjoying a special date together… and a magical time in a love hotel afterward.
It’s All About the Christmas Cake
This morning I asked Mrs. J-List what Christmas means to her, and she answered, “The day shops sell a lot of Christmas cakes.” This is true. When the Fujiya Confectionery Company tried to increase its sales in 1954, they decided to promote “Christmas cake” as something every family should order. The company departed from the British-style holiday fruitcake in favor of a standard shortcake with white frosting topped with red strawberries to simulate “Santa-san walking through the snow.”
You may have heard the term “Christmas cake” used about a woman who isn’t married by her 25th birthday “because no one wants to buy after the 25th.” This is the source of amusing jokes in anime but it isn’t a thing anymore. In case you’re wondering, the current average age at first marriage is 31 for men and 29 for women.
Christmas is Time to Party!
One way of thinking about the holiday season in Japan is that Christmas and New Year’s are flipped. Here, everyone loves to have a loud Christmas party complete with karaoke, but New Year’s is a time for solemn reflection on our hopes for the new year.
Presents for Children
What would Christmas be without presents for kids? The man who brought McDonald’s to Japan was a genius Japanese businessman Den Fujita. When he got involved with opening Toys “R” Us stores here, part of his plan was to start training children to expect Christmas presents from parents and grandparents.
Christmas is for…Watching Anime?
In recent years, anime episodes about Christmas have become increasingly important, and many fans plan which anime they will re-watch all December long. What’s your favorite Christmas anime?
What are the best anime episodes to re-watch during the holiday season? Here’s a blog post!
Finally, Christmas is for Celebrating the Birth of Jesus
Finally, there’s the religious aspect of Christmas after eating cake or KFC, singing karaoke at a loud Christmas party, and planning a special night with that special someone. As I wrote in my blog post about how Christianity is viewed from inside Japan, only 1% of Japanese are practicing Christians, and the cultural awareness of the holiday as a day to mark the birth of Christ is comparatively small.
Thanks for reading this post exploring how Christmas is viewed in Japan. Got any thoughts or feedback for us? Post it below, or reply to us on Twitter!
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