Christmas in Japan

Although, majority of Japanese are not Christian, Christmas has still become a cultural holiday that many Japanese celebrate. However, what makes Japanese Christmas so unique, is because how different it is from the rest of the world. This difference comes from what the Japanese eat, to how they celebrate Christmas.

For many countries, standard colors associated with Christmas is red, white, green and in some countries even gold and silver. However, in Japan, most Japanese will only associate red and white with Christmas. Now you might think many Japanese associate the red and white color with the color of Santa Claus, however that is not the case. The reason for why many Japanese associate Christmas with red and white is because of the food. It is tradition for many Japanese to eat strawberry shortcake and chicken from the popular food chain KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken). Strawberry shortcake is a simple whipped cream cake topped with a strawberry. While KFC is probably what many foreigners might find very strange when discovering that many Japanese eat this for Christmas dinner. Most people, especially from the Western world would probably associate food like turkey, ham, or roast beef as the standard Christmas main course. Nevertheless, KFC in Japan offers many Christmas deals, and every year all KFCs across Japan will be fully booked on the 25th for both tables and takeout. If you happen to come to Japan during Holiday season and would like to try out the KFC Christmas menu then you should definitely make an order way before December has even started.

(This is what a Japanese Strawberry Shortcake looks like)

Another interesting fact about KFC in Japan, is that when many Japanese are asked who Santa Claus is or what Santa Claus looks like then they will point to the KFC founder, Colonel Sanders. At every KFC store that can be found in Japan, there will always be a statue of Colonel Sanders standing outside by the entrance. For example, if you were walking down a food street and felt like eating KFC then it would maybe be natural for you to look for the classic KFC logo, however this is not the case for Japanese. Most likely, if a Japanese were walking down a food street and would like to eat KFC, instead of looking for the iconic logo, then they would look at every entrance to a store so that they can find the statue of Colonel Sanders. Now to continue on what I mentioned earlier. Yes, it is very sweet that most Japanese will associate Colonel Sanders as Santa Claus in Japan. When Japanese are asked about what Santa Claus looks like, then they would say Santa Claus is or looks like Colonel Sanders. They associate the founder of KFC with being Santa Claus, because they eat his food on Christmas. In addition, it is also custom for many KFC stores in Japan to dress the statue of Colonel Sanders in Santa Claus clothing. It is indeed very adorable.

(During Holiday season, many KFC stores in Japan will dress the statue of Colonel Sanders in Santa Claus clothing)

Furthermore, most Japanese actually associate Christmas with being a romantic holiday, instead of religious. It is actually quite common for many couples to walk around during Christmas to have a romantic dinner and give each other gifts. So, if you ever come to Japan to celebrate Christmas, then don’t be surprised by the sheer number of couples you will see roaming the streets being super lovey-dovey by holding hands and hugging in public. If Japanese would not celebrate Christmas with their partner, then most likely they would celebrate Christmas with family or friends. For young Japanese it is typical like many other countries to celebrate Christmas with their family. Custom practice is to eat KFC, eat Strawberry Shortcake and then open gifts with each other. After that, it is normal for teenagers to go outside to hang out with their friends, while parents and younger kids will stay at home to watch TV Christmas specials.

Overall, Christmas is a wonderful holiday that is celebrated all across the globe. Yes, maybe some people will find it strange how the Japanese celebrate Christmas by eating KFC or mostly spend their Christmas like it is Valentine’s day. Whether people celebrate it for religious reasons or other reasons, it is still an amazing holiday that brings people together.