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Christmas in Japan

Here's a link that a japanese friend sent me. Nothing special, just christmas images in Japan.

Have fun and merry Christmas to all!

excite.co.jp/season/2002/xmas/spot/
 
'Tis the season of . . .

However, not all Japanese are so thrilled with this hedonistic hurly-burly. Fed media images of Christmas charity drives and church services in the West, they wonder whether there isn't more to Yuletide than this. [...] On the other hand, there are some Japanese, particularly among older people living in the countryside, who would be just as happy without Christmas altogether. Such types refuse to acknowledge that the imported festivities have now become an integral part of Japanese culture. Christmas, they mutter, is about as Japanese -- and, for that matter, as appealing -- as yak's milk or grilled locusts.

=> japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?fl20021222a1.htm

Christmas spirit? Well, as long as you don't drive

=> japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?fd20021222tc.htm

Home sweet family Christmas

fl20021222a2a-1.jpg


While many families gather for a feast on Christmas Eve, as neither Dec. 24 or 25 are holidays here, some families, including the Sasakis, may be digging into their Christmas meal this weekend. And whatever else they put on their tables, the special dinner just wouldn't be complete without Kurisumasu keki (Christmas cake) and chicken, which are, according to several surveys, the top two items on Japanese people's Christmas menu.

Unlike the heavy fruitcakes in some other countries, though, Japan's Christmas cakes are typically light sponge cakes covered with whipped cream and decorated with pieces of fruit and ornaments made of sugar. Although cakes like these are often sold in slices, many people favor buying a whole one for Christmas -- typically spending between 2,000 yen and 5,000 yen.


=> japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?fl20021222a2.htm

Doesn't Christmas cake have another meaning in Japan? :emoji_grinning:
 
"Home sweet family Christmas" is an excellent article Thomas... Thanks for sharing. Several interesting subjects are mentioned. Although I knew that the Japanese enjoyed a Christmas Cake on the holiday, I had no idea that chicken was the main course for the Christmas meal; and it appears that artificial Christmas trees have also caught on in many households. An interesting side note is that I have seen these artificial Christmas trees crop up in Buddhist temples here in the USA too.

Although Santa is considered by most Japanese children as being a mysterious benefactor that comes bearing gifts as they sleep on the night before Christmas, the phenomena of Santa Clause appears to have no religious significance whatsoever. In fact the Christmas holiday seems to have little religious meaning (if any) for the vast majority of Japanese who celebrate it.

This does appear to be a growing trend in the USA as well. Many Christians in my country seem to have completely forgotten the religious meaning of Christmas, and the holiday has become all about gathering with family and friends in order to enjoy the food, the gifts and the football game. As a Buddhist living in the USA... I must tell you that I have no qualms with a secular Christmas. Yet insane consumerism during this season is not something that I would easily condone... if not for the children's joy.


Original article: japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin...l20021222a2.htm
 
Originally posted by Kakuzen
Many Christians in my country seem to have completely forgotten the religious meaning of Christmas, and the holiday has become all about gathering with family and friends in order to enjoy the food, the gifts and the football game. As a Buddhist living in the USA... I must tell you that I have no qualms with a secular Christmas. Yet insane consumerism during this season is not something that I would easily condone... if not for the children's joy.

I have to agree with you: Christmas has not only lost its religious meaning, but also its magic touch and atmosphere (perhaps I'm just getting old). On the other hand it seems it is no longer the consumerist orgy it used to be, but perhaps that's just a side effect of global recession.

Addendum: "Christmas is all about love"

What does Christmas mean to you?

=> japantoday.com/e/?content=popvox&id=327&display=all

🙂:
 
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xmas

people need to chill out.....or warm up, if you're freezing out there.... :emoji_grinning:

probably another look at this one should give people the true meaning of xmas... :emoji_grinning:

at any rate, I'll be heading out to J-land for the New Years.....I wonder what's changed in the 6 years I've been away... :emoji_grinning:
 
Wishing all members of the forum a very happy and enjoyable Christmas.
Just curious
Whats a typical Christmas day for the Japanese? How does the day start,proceed and end? Do they eat anything special? Do they wear new clothes?

Religious go to the Church, others party?.........Would like to know how its celebrated.Or do people scoot off to their hometown and freak out there till New Year?

Mou ichido "KURISUMASU OMEDETOU!!!"
 
Thanks Kinjo! 🙂:

There are a few J-related Christmas articles in this thread. In Western countries Christmas is usually quiet. Contrary to Japan, it's during New Year people freak out, lol.
 
Den4, hope you'll send us an occasional report once you're there. 🙂:

Stars & Stripes reported on Christmas in Japan as well:

Christmas in Japan: A different kind of holiday fun

In Japan, Christmas has evolved into a day of fun, including gift giving and partying. Younger people celebrate Christmas at parties with their friends, or a romantic dinner with their boyfriends and girlfriends. Families with younger children put up Christmas trees and celebrate with dinner, cakes and gifts.

=> estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=12269

Christianity not big part of day for many Japanese

After World War II, Christmas became widely celebrated in hostess bars in areas like downtown Tokyo. Hostesses would give customers party hats and cakes to take home to families as gifts in return for staying out late drinking. Gradually, Christmas became even more popular, celebrated by families during the period of economic expansion. However, Christmas celebrations and partying have calmed compared to during the boom economy of the 1980s and early 1990s. will be working. I have no special plans, said Hiroshi Amagai, a hairdresser. It is only an event. According to the Hakuhodo Institute of Life and Living, the number of people celebrating Christmas in Japan declined in the past decade.

=> estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=12264
 
planning on going over there for new years.... :D

den4 :D

to japan that is... :p

see what crazy things have come up since I was there six years ago.... :D
 
j-trip

:sorry:
ended up catching the flu over in J-land over the new years.....not fun... :(
watched a lot of TV and ate some good food, but all in all, only got into Tokyo twice, both times to meet up with some friends, but forgot how nasty some of those smoke filled resutorans and izakayas were.....

:eek:

maybe next time I'll be able to see and do more.....

one thing of note is that you don't need to go to Tokyo these days to find the same stuff locally... :eek:
 
I'm just curious about Christmas in Japan. All I know about it is from watching the Love Hina Christmas Special, does it represent the hoilday well? I know the Christian aspect of it must be looked at as pretty foreign, but with the secular commerical aspect of it, surely businesses promote the holiday to sell gifts? How do people celebrate it, and what are some Japanese customs/traditions?
 
Christmas is not a national holiday in Japan. Aside from the Christian or pagan aspect of gift giving (depending upon how you look upon this day in Japan), people go to work just like any other day. If you're Christian, it obviously has some special meaning for you, but for the typical Japanese, that I've come across, it is usually a day when lovers get together at some fancy hotel, resort, or vacation spot to have a private dinner together and maybe watch a movie or some other recreational activity. At least that was how it was represented to me when I was still there. And, around that time, the Marui shop usually ran commercials with Tatsuro Yamashita's "Christmas Eve" tune showing scenes of Christmas trees, decorations, Christmas cakes and Shinkansens for the duration of the commercial...
Also a time when pastry shops go out of their way to sell xmas cakes, Tokyo Disneyland does its xmas light parade, and none of the classic children's TV specials, created by Rankin Bass and done by the then Tezuka Osamu's Mushi Pro studios, are shown because for some reason you can only find those shows on video or dvds :p
Also the season when you get fanatical Christian wannabe televangelists blaring their taped messages (in Japanese) on megaphones out in front of Hachiko Square in Shibuya or elsewhere telling the Tokyoites that they are going to hell unless they convert to Christianity. :eek: This really puts a damper on the xmas mood and spirit... :(
but again, it is not a recognized holiday, and what you see in anime specials may not reflect the reality....I'm sure others can explain the current trends better than I can... :D
because What do I know? :D
 
Den4 hit it right on the head.

I would add that kids look forward to the day too, because, in short, they get stuff. Like Den4 said, Christmas in Japan is a holiday for couples, children, eating cake, and watching stuff on TV.

Also, since there is no Thanksgiving in Japan, the push to get ready for the gift-giving starts in early Novemeber. You can already order your Christmas cake.

All that said, the Japanese New Years celebration really put the western ones to shame. That is when all the family and togetherness stuff comes in.
 
Originally posted by SacredBlue
And just to add there are no turkey dinners in Japan 😊

Well, they did have a turkey dinner in some isolated parties in and around Japan (depending upon the family or company), and the one time I went to a xmas party for the company I used to work for, they were serving "rare" Turkey, on a grand plate, that reminded me of sashimi (raw fish)... 😲 No stuffing or gravy there, folks! :D
That turned me off faster than the other stuff they were serving....I suppose it was "stylish" and "fashionable" but raw turkey meat just does nothing to whet my appetite.... :D
 
My second year in Japan some friends and I tried to replicate as close as possible to preparing an authentic, old-fashioned, just-like-Mom-used-to-make, homestyle Thanksgiving meal (with all the fixin's) for a mutual group of Japanese friends. As I was the only American in the group (one Aussie, a Brit, and a Nigerian), they all looked up to me to get the meal "just right" per se since it was after all MY "Yankee tradition" heh.

Let's just say it didn't turn out quite as well as we had expected, heh (a cullinary nightmare more like it...). Ever seen a Japanese oven that can bake a 22lb. bird? Me neither 8-p Nevertheless it wasn't bad, just not quite the same for someone like myself who relished those opportunities growing up to be with friends and family all sharing a great meal at dinnertime.
:)
 
Actually they don't party much for new years. They stay home with the family and eat new years foods.
 
they all sit at home and watch either the Kohaku song contest on NHK and wait for the bells to toll by the priests at the temples....or they watch the new year's eve variety shows and then eat like mad the special new year's meals...and then some folks are crazy enough to go to some isolated place to catch the first rays of the sun.... :D
 
LOL Japanese ovens ( if your lucky enough to have one ) are small. You'ld be suprised to find out how well a Weber kettle grill doubles as an oven. Ive cooked pizzia, lasagna, a cake and yes a Thanksgiving turkey on one.
 
@den4
come on now...the first sun rise of the new year, that would be a sight to see. Especially for the japanese, what with some of the superstitions they have had. I don't think I have missed one in 15 years.

@MissingOki
That is too funny. I have to get me a Weber now...LOL
 
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