So this is Christmas...
"BLUF" (Bottom Line Up Front) .... It is many things, but not a vacation .... This year, Japanese people will go to work on Christmas Day, as if it were a regular, non-special, Tuesday .... and the week which follows will be real busy, as preparations go into full-gear for the New Years holidays and celebrations...
But Christmas certainly is observed in Japan, and the whole thing starts on 01 November, the day after Halloween .... Japanese love to arrange, decorate, and wrap things in paper, especially in concert with nature and the changing of the seasons .... there is also a long-standing tradition of gift-giving...
So, in recent years, Halloween has become an occasion to decorate one's home with all sorts of exotic & spooky objects, in the autumn colors of orange, yellow, brown, and black .... there are also parades and street parties where people in costumes frolic into the late night hours...
Then Halloween is finished, and, up-next is Christmas .... and since there is no Thanksgiving in Japan (no turkeys either), the stores put away the Halloween merchandise and quickly bring-out the Christmas stuff .... and thereafter, for the whole month of November and into December, Christmas decorations, trees, lights, knick-knacks, gifts, and music become part of the fabric of each passing, increasingly cold, day...
Nighttime lighting, e.g., neon, has always been a thing in Tokyo .... so, as Christmas started taking root, the idea of stringing-up colored lights as part of a holiday decoration was enthusiastically accepted, and, along with the introduction of energy-efficient LEDs, resulted in the emergence of "Illuminations", which are incredible & humongous, holiday light displays .... this link shows some of the best ones in Tokyo:
https://tokyocheapo.com/entertainment/top-10-picks-for-best-winter-illuminations-in-tokyo/ The Top 10 Picks for Tokyo Winter Illuminations 2018 | Tokyo Cheapo - Tokyo Cheapo | The Ultimate Guide To Tokyo
We’re not trying to squash the romance and wonder of the season, but Tokyo winter illuminations have become something of an arms race with the various districts trying to out-gun each other with more and more fantastically produced illuminations.
tokyocheapo.com
The Illuminations start by mid-November, with some going through Christmas Eve, some until New Year's Eve, and others continuing into January & February .... So, by late-November, Christmas merchandise & decorations are in the stores, PA systems are playing loops of holiday music, and there are gorgeous night-lights here and there around the city .... it is becoming sort of ubiquitous...
In particular, this odd song by Paul McCartney:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9BZDpni56Y
So, what is this all leading to...?
Well, a slight detour must be made for TO-JI (冬至) Winter Solstice .... It is observed in Japan, as are all major milestones in Nature's calendar .... but TO-JI never evolved into a special celebration or festival, and instead is apparently observed by sitting in hot bath with a bunch of floating YUZU (柚 a type of citrus fruit)
Right after the Solstice, on 23 December, is the Heisei Emperor Akihito's birthday, which is a national holiday .... and this day off allows the Japanese to, in effect, start celebrating Christmas, with the focus being on Christmas Eve...
At this point, several things start happening .... all of them activities, or "traditions", which Japan has worked into its own and unique version of Christmas, and they occur during the mainly evening hours of 23-24 December:
(1) Christmas cake: The prototypical Christmas cake is two or three layers of vanilla sponge cake with white cream frosting and covered with strawberries .... there are also chocolate versions, and some other variations .... but the point is to buy the cake and eat it with your family, or loved one(s), on Christmas Eve (and no later) .... lots of cakes are made, and there are special booths which sell them, and a lot of time-challenged people lining up to buy them, before the clock strikes 12...
(2) Kentucky Fried Chicken: Since most Japanese homes do not have ovens, especially those large enough to cook a whole bird .... and, Japanese are vaguely aware of Americans eating those "huge" turkeys .... well, the Kentucky Fried Chicken company definitely saw a business opportunity, and it started selling "holiday" buckets of chicken, with all the fixings .... needless to say, you just can't walk into KFC and expect to get one of those on Christmas Eve .... No, you need to order your special/festive fried chicken meal in advance, or otherwise stand in line to get some (just like those in the other line for the Christmas cakes)
(3) Santa Claus & Presents: Many Japanese families with small children have adopted the tradition of faking-out their kids about the existence Santa Claus and setting-up a Christmas tree and buying presents, etc., but the majority of the trees are definitely made of plastic (most with LED lights already embedded) .... and not all parents do the gifts-below-the-tree thing, and instead take their children to "Toys-R-Us" (yes, it still exists as a profitable company in Japan), and let the kids choose .... then, it's off to KFC and the cake store...
(4) Christmas Eve Date Night: I don't know how this one came about, but, if you are a Japanese person in your late-teens or early-20's, it seems that you are REQUIRED to go on a romantic date during Christmas Eve .... pretty much all the nice restaurants are totally booked, well in advance, by guys trying to make a good impression .... and one thing which might have contributed to this phenomenon is that many Japanese companies pay year-end bonuses during mid-December, so there is some disposable income available to pay for expensive meals, gifts, and hotel rooms...
So, that is it, Christmas (Eve) in Japan .... and I would like to take this opportunity to wish a Merry Christmas to all of you Japan-gazer readers .... and best wishes for 2019!
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