If Germans and Japanese were to talk about Christmas, you might think the two were discussing completely different celebrations. And that's exactly the case: in the Land of the Rising Sun, Christmas is much more comparable to the globally known Valentine's Day. It isn't celebrated with the family. There are, however, still many similarities to the Western Christmas.
Everything different: less faith, more love
Like so many things, Christmas in Japan is completely different. Impressive Christmas trees, sprawling light displays, and even Santa Claus are part of it too, so on the surface Japanese Christmas may seem like it does over here, but appearances are deceiving. Christmas in Japan has nothing to do with religion or professions of faith - fairly enough, as is now the case in many Western families, too. And apart from the Christian-influenced families in Asia, who make up only about one percent of the Japanese population.
Surely a shock for children from Western regions: gifts don't hold an especially high value. Small tokens are exchanged among friends and family members, but there's no tradition of it on the scale we know. It isn't a public holiday there, either. People work completely normally, though with decorated trees and stores on the way to the office. Only pupils and students have two weeks of vacation because of the coming turn of the year. And it's the young people, above all, who celebrate Christmas in Japan. Because there, too, it's the season of love. For couples.
Japanese Christmas: the dating celebration
One thing is no different in Japan either: when young people celebrate, they throw lively parties, too. But much more important is the expression of affection for another person: as mentioned at the outset, Christmas at the other end of the world resembles Valentine's Day much more. Teenagers and young adults ask each other out on dates on 'Kurisumasu Ibu' (クリスマス･イブ), essentially Christmas Eve. And whoever asks for a date signals: I like you and want to get to know you. That's why the holiday is especially a welcome time for singles to meet someone, and for couples to express their affection for each other.
That's why there are also many Santa Claus costumes to be seen in the shopping centers and stores, ones that come across as rather provocative and sexy, which is surely no coincidence. Among other things, this shows that Christmas in Japan is very American and commercially shaped. Like Valentine's Day, really. Fittingly, the food tends to be sweet rather than hearty: instead of juicy roasts, the Japanese serve cakes and tortes. The celebration is accompanied by a curious trend, stemming from a clever advertising campaign of the 1970s: at the fast-food chain Kentucky Fried Chicken, the Japanese pre-order special Christmas menus weeks in advance. So in the evening there's fried chicken in various forms.
Merry Christmas in Japanese: メリークリスマス (Merii Kurisumasu)
At a glance
- Christmas is comparable to Valentine's Day
- Gifts hold little importance
- For food there's increasingly fast food
- New Year's Eve is the family celebration with lavish gifts
- New Year's: the real Christmas in Japan
Very few young Japanese spend Christmas with their families. Instead they spend the New Year that follows shortly after, 'Oshōgatsu' (お正月), the actual family celebration, with them. That's why all the decorations disappear as early as December 25, and after one day Christmas is already over again. For the turn of the year, though, the Japanese pull out all the stops: a classic holiday feast, lavish gifts, and above all envelopes of money for the children, countless New Year's cards, and of course lots of decoration and tradition: for example the 'red-and-white singing contest Kōhaku Uta Gassen' (紅白歌合戦), which has gathered many Japanese in front of the TV for more than half a century. The New Year's cleaning 'Susuharai' (煤払い) is part of it, too. Between December 29 and January 3, most companies are closed; the time belongs to the family. January 1 is a national holiday. One of the highlights is then the traditional New Year's meal, served in small boxes similar to the well-known bento lunch boxes - only arranged far more elaborately. Because that means a good amount of work, the dishes are usually prepared before the holidays. That way there's no more cooking to do on New Year's. Given the usual Christmas stress, actually not a bad idea, is it? In many respects, the Japanese New Year celebration is thus much closer to the Christmas we know in Germany.
