A lot of Japanese people celebrate Christmas in Japan, even though it’s not an official holiday there. Due to the small Christian population (less than 1%), Christmas is not recognized as a religious festival in the country. On the other hand, many American traditions have become widespread, like exchanging holiday cards and gifts. Japanese couples spend more time together and exchange more gifts on Christmas Eve than on Christmas Day.
Their celebration of Christmas Eve is quite similar to those held in the United Kingdom and the United States during Valentine’s Day on February 14th. Christmas cake, often a sponge cake topped with strawberries and whipped cream, is a staple of Japanese Christmas celebrations. Similarly, KFC fried chicken is often ordered as a side dish at Christmas dinner. Even though it is observed in a manner distinct from that practiced in the West, Christmas in Japan is nevertheless a celebratory time for every Japanese person.
How Christmas is Celebrated in Japan
Japan has its own special tradition for celebrating Christmas. Christmas is generally celebrated by friends and couples rather than family members, in contrast to many Western nations. Some examples of Japanese Christmas are:
- Christmas Eve Dinners: Holiday feasts on Christmas Eve are more common than Christmas Day itself. The lovers spend time with one other and open gifts. It’s quite similar to Western Valentine’s Day traditions.
- KFC Christmas Dinner: One unique part of celebrating Christmas in Japan is the custom of having a KFC dinner. It all started in 1974 after a brilliant advertising campaign, and today ordering KFC is almost a cultural rite of passage in Japan.
- Christmas Cake: One such common custom is the Christmas cake. Christmas cakes in Japan are often sponge cakes topped with whipped cream and strawberries, rather than the dense fruit cakes popular in the West.
- Gift-Giving: Gift-giving is an element of the Japanese Christmas custom, albeit it is often not as lavish as it is in the West. The price of the present is less important than the recipient’s appreciation of the giver’s thought.
- Decorations: Cities around Japan are famed for their Christmas light displays. The festivities begin in November and continue until February.
- A Non-Religious Celebration: Christmas in Japan is celebrated as a secular holiday, rather than a religious one. Since only around 1% of the population is Christian in Japan, this holiday is completely commercial.
Two Most Popular Christmas Traditions
Japan has its own Christmas customs, the most notable of which being the KFC Christmas dinner and the Christmas cake.
KFC Christmas Dinner
In 1970, at the Osaka World Expo, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) set up its first shop in Japan. Store manager Takeshi Okawara came up with the idea to advertise the chain’s “party barrels” of chicken as a celebratory alternative to a traditional Thanksgiving turkey feast in the United States. The idea came about when the protagonist was requested to act as Santa Claus and serve chicken to a local school for a holiday celebration.
Within a short period of time, the term “Kentucky Christmas” had entered the common lexicon; it is still often heard in modern television advertising. “Kurisumasu ni wa, Kentakki,” which translates to “Kentucky for Christmas,” was a nationwide advertising campaign that spread this idea in 1974.
An estimated 3.6 million Japanese households celebrate Christmas Day with a KFC meal every year. Party barrels are now called Christmas dinner packages, and they account for a stunning one-third of KFC Japan’s yearly sales. Japanese people order their “Kentucky for Christmas” box weeks in advance to not wait in line for four hours. There is no way to know for sure where this custom originated.
Christmas Cake
It wasn’t until the Meiji era that the Japanese Christmas cake tradition got its start. The first Christmas cake in Japan was sold in 1910 at Fujiya, a European-style bakery in Yokohama, a port city near Tokyo. At its core was a European-style fruitcake, which was rich and steeped in liqueur.
At the time of its first release, the cake was so costly that only the rich could afford to buy and consume it. After then, Fujiya became a global ambassador for Christmas. It was not until 1947 that Christmas was celebrated again after being outlawed during World War II.
The whipped cream topping for the Japanese holiday cake was introduced after World War II. It used to be buttercream, but now it’s whipped cream. Buttercream could be held at room temperature, but since the refrigerator appeared, it made it possible to have fresh cream cakes, which were non-viable to preserve at home previously.
Strawberry shortcake, made with génoise sponge, crème Chantilly or whipped cream, and fresh red strawberries, is the traditional Japanese Christmas dessert. As a sign of success and prosperity, this cake may be found for sale in almost every corner of Japan, from Hokkaido to Kyushu. Traditional European Christmas cuisines such as German stollen, Italian panettone, and the French bûche de Nol are more popular now as the Christmas cake market becomes more saturated.
Is Santa Claus Popular in Japan?
Yes, Santa Claus is highly popular in Japan, and he is known as サンタクロース or Santa-san. It wasn’t until the 19th century that Santa Claus became well-known in Japan, and even that wasn’t too late. In reality, in 1874, a Japanese politician named Hara Takashi disguised himself as Santa Claus and handed out gifts to kids in Tokyo.
Since then, Santa Claus has become a cultural symbol associated with Christmas in Japan. Toy stores, supermarkets, and other retail establishments made this character even more popular, which is believed to have originated from a Turkish character called Ayaz Ata, or “Grandfather Frost”. Santa’s position as a year-round symbol of goodwill and charity has a good resonance in Japanese society.
The Real Japanese Christmas: Shōgatsu
Although Christmas is not a legally recognized holiday in Japan, many schools will be closed that day since it falls close to the beginning of the New Year vacation. But most stores and companies will operate as usual on December 25th. If residents have Christmas decorations, they are taken down on the 25th, and then other decorations are put up for the Japanese New Year (正月, Shōgatsu).
In this day and age, they still decorate trees (which is an Asian tradition rather than a Western) and eat their traditional foods such as osechi-ryōri and rice cakes (mochi). During the Shōgatsu, the bells on Buddhist temples are rung 108 times, the families send nenga postcards to each other, and adult relatives give money to children in a tradition known as otoshidama. They also listen to Beethoven’s Ninth and play a customary New Year game called hanetsuki. The Japanese New Year begins on December 31/January 1 and ends on January 4.
History of Christmas in Japan
Origins
During the Sengoku era, also known as the “Warring States Period” (15th–17th century), a missionary named Francis Xavier brought Christianity to Japan, and with it, Christmas. He co-founded the Society of Jesus and led the first Christian mission to Japan in 1549. He traveled to the country with a bigger group of Portuguese merchants and Jesuit missionaries. Only a few years later in 1552, the first Christmas service was performed in the country, and in the spirit of the season, gifts were distributed to farmers in need.
However, the shogunate outlawed Christianity and all other Christian practices in 1614 throughout the Edo Period (1603–1867). In 1873, as part of the religious freedom movement accompanying the Meiji Restoration, Christians were once again legally permitted to practice their faith in Japan. Christianity and its associated rituals, such as Christmas, were once again open to the Japanese public after the period’s institutionalization of religious tolerance.
Christmas Is Once Again Popular
In the 1870s, Christmas was once again incorporated into popular culture, but by WWII, its influence had waned, just like everything considered to be American. With the help of the Christmas cake and Colonel Sanders (KFC), Christmas was revived after World War II and quickly gained popularity in Japan. During this time, the holiday went through something of a popularity explosion in the country.
Christmas became increasingly connected with romance, much like New Year’s Eve is in the West, throughout the 1980s and during Japan’s “bubble period” of economic prosperity, when celebrations, particularly on Christmas Eve, grew more expensive. Christmas in modern Japan is less about religious rituals and more about spreading good cheer. There are 2 million Christians in the country.
Beautifully lit Christmas trees, establishments dressed up in holiday decorations, and carols playing over the speakers are hallmarks of modern Christmas in Japan. The 24th of December is one of the biggest evenings for love hotels due to the many parties including romantic meals for couples.
The Best Places to Visit in Japan During Christmas
There are many firsts to be experienced in Japan throughout the Christmas season. Some of the top spots to visit in Japan during the holidays are listed here.
Tokyo
Numerous German-themed Christmas markets can be found all across Tokyo, making it the ideal destination for holiday shoppers. You may anticipate gingerbread buildings, tons of German bratwursts and other German sausages, and plenty of hot mulled wine. Tokyo is great any time of year, but December is definitely the best.
Hokkaido
A true winter paradise may be seen in northern Hokkaido. The coldest month is December, yet the northernmost island has several ski resorts where you may enjoy a white Christmas and a day on the slopes. Sapporo, the country’s biggest city, goes all out for the holiday season as well; there will be Christmas markets and lots of lights and illuminations.
Hakuba
Typically, the ski season starts in December and peaks in March. Skiers and snowboarders flock to Hakuba for the area’s powdery snow.
Chichibu Night Festival
One of the most well-known winter celebrations in Japan takes place each year in Chichibu, Saitama Prefecture. The celebration comprises a procession of floats decked with lanterns and fireworks.
Hasedera Autumn Leaves Festival
Kamakura is an excellent spot to see the fall foliage, and this event is held there. There are food stands and other entertainment options, and the temple is lit up with thousands of lights.
Onsen
The winter months are perfect for unwinding in an onsen (hot spring). In the colder months, Japanese tourists flock to the country’s various onsen resorts.