Christmas in Japan
Posted by: kirin on 
Dec 18th, 2009 | 
Filed under: Daily Life
Do we have Christmas in Japan?
I’d say…we have a sort of romance under the name of “Christmas” in Japan. What do I mean? Well, it’s not too much to say that Christmas has no religious meanings for most of Japanese people except for Christian. Then what day is that? It’s a day to spend with your lover! That’s why Christmas eve, 24th of Dec. is more important in Japan than 25th, the very Christmas day. (In fact, in our culture, new year eve and a new year day, up until 3rd of January is more important for every single Japanese!)
*Disclaimer: These photos are quoted from walkerplus. Rurubu has a similar site too, if you are interested in…
Thus there’s basically no rule for Christmas in Japan. If you want to stay with your family, do that. If you want to stay at a luxurious romantic hotel with your lover, do that. If you want to party with close friends, do that. Whatever! There’s certainly no solemn thoughts for Jesus, I have to say this. That’s how Japan is. It’s a sort of festive event without religious background. We don’t even have a national holiday on the Christmas day. (I’m not speaking of Christian people in Japan, I’m speaking of most of Japanese people because most of us do not have specific religion. Please do not get confused, even if we don’t have religion, that doesn’t mean we act contrary to humanity. I think I should spare some time to write a post about religions in Japan. )
If you ever have a chance to visit Tokyo, it’s be fantastic if you can book a room at hotel Miracosta, an official hotel of Tokyo Disney Resort, and explore both TDL and TDS thoroughly!
If you are a faithful Christian, please do not get offended at our superficial event making use of “Christmas”.
Whatever it is…HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO YOU ALL!! 
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December 18th, 2009 at 2:48 pm
Thank you for sharing that. I just think it's funny even foreigners know what DINKs are. Alot of Americans still don't know what that is.
December 18th, 2009 at 6:21 pm
Thanks for posting, Kirin. Everybody will have Christmas dinners and buy and get presents and get together with the family or friends. Eating turkey isn't so traditional here as in USA, but we have certain Christmas recipes which are 'traditional' and we put up a Christmas tree with lights and decorations (it used to be real candles , but they're a fire hazard. ( BTW a lot of cheapo LED lights made in China are a fire hazard these days too ! ) and a small model of the stall with Jesus, Mary, Joseph, the 3 holy men, an ox and a donkey underneath.
Even in christian countries, Christmas time is very commercialized
so we're not offended by YOU YELLOW HEATHENS only using our most sacred Christian religious day ( the birthday of our LORD Jesus) as one more excuse to EAT AND DRINK AND FEAST ! Not offended at all.
December 18th, 2009 at 10:57 pm
Yeah, Christmas in Japan is very much a "business chance". Even more than in the U.S.!
December 19th, 2009 at 3:00 am
Great post! Also, I wouldn't worry about offending Christians. Christmas is really commercialized in the US too, and you really don't hear anything about Jesus unless you're in a church. More than fancy dinners and outings for lovers, it's more about gift-giving and spending time with family.
Also, I hear that in Japan the tradition is to get chicken from KFC and a cake from a convenience store. So weird to us, since we don't really even eat cake on Chistmas! (Unless it's a yule log, but I haven't really known anybody with that tradition.)
December 19th, 2009 at 5:06 am
I had to look up DINKs. "Double Income, No Kids," right? I've heard about Christmas/New Years in Japan and the West being the opposite of each other before. Here New Years is more of the date night. I think Christmas can be romantic too though, even here in the states. A lot of people here celebrate Christmas, but not all of them are Christians. So I don't think any Christians would be offended, as there are sort of used to it, I guess (haha).
Happy Holidays to you too! (^___^) And thank you for adding a link to my blog on your site!
December 19th, 2009 at 5:24 am
Oh, we definitely love looking at the illuminations during Christmas in Japan! We love its simplicity and elegance. ^_^ I remember visiting Japan in Winter 2002 to hand out flyers and free Christmas CDs on the streets though. Lovely memories.
December 19th, 2009 at 5:28 am
You say you're not offended but you sure sounded sarcastic to me, using caps and calling Asians "yellow heathens". This is one issue I have speaking to non-Asians. I don't know when they really mean what they say. -___-!! å£æ˜¯å¿ƒéžã€‚
December 19th, 2009 at 8:58 am
I think that although it's purely commercial, it's nice that there's a bit of celebration around Christmas because it means bright lights and decorations which made me feel a bit more at home when I was there. ^^ It's probably better that it's purely commercial from the start rather than how it has become in the West – it started with a meaning, but has become incredibly commercialised over the years. Either way it's not something I'm so fussed about… Plus, 'when in Rome'. ^^ I hope to spend my next Christmas in Japan with a boyfriend.
December 19th, 2009 at 9:23 am
I think that most of Japanese people understand the meaning of DINKS, as if it were a Japanese word or something. :p
December 19th, 2009 at 9:37 am
@walter, you maybe joking but as Cath says, your comment might sound a bit too strong to Asian people, including me. (I sometimes feel it difficult to catch the true meaning from comments left here, sometimes due to lack of language ability. Just like sometime ago I didn't get your joking at all when I wrote about Christon Cafe. To be honest, I felt confused when I read your comment, but I was not sure how I should take it.) Sometimes any messages can be misled when the communication is indirect. I believe you didn't mean it, you were just joking. (>_<;)
December 19th, 2009 at 9:40 am
Christmas season starts from 1st November in Japan, as you may have noticed. Stores play nothing but Christmas songs! (LOL) This makes me feel like shopping, shopping, after shopping. I'm totally trapped. :p
December 19th, 2009 at 9:40 am
Christmas season starts from 1st November in Japan, as you may have noticed. Stores play nothing but Christmas songs! (LOL) This makes me feel like shopping, shopping, after shopping. I'm totally trapped. :p
December 19th, 2009 at 9:48 am
Oh, I'm relieved to hear that even in the U.S Christmas is commercialized, being away from Jesus… ^ ^;
Actually, there's no rule in Japan what to eat on Christmas. KFC promotes their chicken for Christmas dinner, Pizza Hut will do their pizza, super markets do anything, even Sashimi or Sushi.
Somehow eating a cake on Christmas is so popular here in Japan. It's called "Christmas cake" and you'll see anywhere "Have you reserved your Christmas cake yet?" as if it's a must-have on the day. I am a bit strange person who wants to buy the "Christmas cake" after Christmas is over for half price or something. But I've seen nowhere offering that… :p
December 19th, 2009 at 9:53 am
Hi megan!!! I'm sorry I totally forgot to inform you that I linked your blog! That was sometime ago~! It's been a while since then…So sorry about that. m(_ _)m Gomenne!!
DINKS! Right, that's it!
Over there New Year is a date night? That's very interesting and I totally didn't know that. Over here, New Year is definitely for family and relatives to spend together!
December 19th, 2009 at 9:54 am
The illumination is really lovely here.
I love that so much.
December 19th, 2009 at 9:58 am
When in Rome…in that way we can think that we do Christmas in Japanese way, so what? hehehe… It'd be wonderful if you can stay here with your boyfriend, too! Best wishes to your internship and 2010! ^_^
December 19th, 2009 at 1:38 pm
Hello Kirin. It's so interesting to see you're confused. Are Japanese people unused to irony ?
Verbal irony as in my comment above is saying one thing and meaning the opposite.
In the part of Europe I live , using too strong language ( like'YELLOW HEATHENS" , which is completely over the top no one uses such words anymore
) is a clear indicator (for Europeans at least ) that the speaker is making an ironic remark. The more he(she) pronounces his displeasure , the more the audience giggles. They know the opposite is meant.
It only works if the listener knows this. The speaker has to assume that the listener knows. (as in my remarks on the Christon cafe, for me it's clear that you know I'm not preparing a crusade , therefore the meaning is of course the opposite)
In Belgium, irony and sarcasm is used all the time in daily speech. Belgians know this , we start at a young age to use it. It's considered a sophisticated form of communication.
Truthfully, we also have lots of fun when foreigners are confused by our constant use of it : when the hostess asks if the soup was OK and we reply with a straight face : "That was SOUP ? You dare to call that SOUP? " she smiles while our foreign guest is alarmed :'"But,but.. it was OK, surely?" and then we confuse him(her) completely by asking for a second bowl of soup.
And ofcourse we love using double irony , saying " we're not offended AT ALL ! " which ( if single irony ) would mean the opposite ( Yes, we're offended ) but means the opposite of the opposite : we're not offended. We mix both kinds up in the same sentence,and it's clear to Belgian listeners , but I can understand it might cause confusion in foreigners.
I'll have to remember to limit that when in Japan, haha! Especially the double irony.
BTW Sarcasm is a way of making critical remarks, that sound as humor and that uses (single) irony (" Yes, that is REALLY going to work!") ( See : the words mean the opposite : the speaker states his opinion that it REALLY WON'T work )
Consider it a learning experience
I find it interesting to see your reaction because humor is a big part of life and I want to find out what kinds Japanese use and are used to , before I go to Japan. ^_^
BTW : Don't use ironic speech when talking to police officers and government officials in Europe : they don't understand irony because they've been trained to do so. You have been warned.
December 19th, 2009 at 1:43 pm
i like the way the Japanese do christmas. I mean, i love spending Christmas with my family, but i would love to spend the day with either my friends or lover aswell. :/ but if i tried to do that… boy would i get yelled at by al my family members lol. its jut something you cant do here in england, it sucks lol. i myself and not to fond of romance in real life, unless its subtile lol but i like the japanese christmas… its rather…heart warming
…maybe ive just read to many shoujo manga.haha.
December 19th, 2009 at 2:39 pm
Thank you so much for telling me that. We (or maybe only I?) are not very much used to humor with irony in daily conversations between friends or people around us. I'm sure I will be very much confused if I go to your country until I get used to it!
We do love humor, but our way is called Manzai (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manzai) and it usually needs 2 people: One for "boke", the other for "tsukkomi". Usually we don't joke around so often but instead, we turn on TV to watch Manzai (or it's also called "Owarai") to have fun.
I think that when in text, sometimes I cannot get the true meaning. When I talk with the person directly, I can see his face, listen to his voice and tone. Unless he looks very serious, I can sense he is joking. But when in text, I cannot sense things like that. That's why I guess I get confused…(@_@)
December 19th, 2009 at 2:40 pm
@walter,
This is one of sample images of Owarai. Most of Japanese people love this style!
Image of Owarai.
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December 19th, 2009 at 3:20 pm
It's very interesting that English people say that, because I thought our way sounds weird to you. I've seen too much commercialized aspects of Japanese Christmas and sometimes feel sick of that…but after this post with some comments that support our way, I can look at it differently. Thank you for your opinion!
December 19th, 2009 at 6:20 pm
im not sure about the english population in genral, but i myself defintly like the idea. But then again i dont know weather im biased because i love Japan on a whole in Genral :/ lol. but the idea is rather heart warming, im glad that mine and everyone elses opinions have made you look at things a bit differently
December 19th, 2009 at 7:11 pm
Happy holidays to you too, Kirin! =)
December 19th, 2009 at 8:55 pm
I see. Interesting.
That's the classical double act, with one straight guy and one delivering the stupid remarks, which makes the straight one angry. We have had a number of those as well, but it's not the only type. Actually , Hollywood had a number of those way back to Laurel and Hardy, and Abbot and Costello. It's a bit out of fashion right now.
We have many other popular types. Many comedians are single acts , usually making fun of current situations.
One of the funniest animes I have ever seen, actually has a Boke and Tsukkomi in it : Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu (2003) , where the Japanese schoolgirl Chidori Kaname is protected by an teenage special forces agent, Sagara Sousuke, enrolled undercover at her high school.
Sousuke has been militarily trained and fought in rebel wars from the young age of 12 , knows only military life and applies his straightforward military reasoning to solve each and every "problem" , which results in the most hilarious and destructive situations.
While Kaname is a straight next door girl level-headed type student , Sousuke is a one man unstoppable army and the king of overkill, ( he tends to shoot or blow up anything even slightly suspicious ) and always ends up with Kaname hitting him over the head with a set of cardboard strips ?
I wish I knew how to post an excerpt of it . You'd love the show.
BTW, have you seen my latest post http://brandnewbearings.blogspot.com/2009/12/look... ?. Be glad you're not in Belgium right now. You would probably freeze to death.
December 20th, 2009 at 3:30 am
Sometimes we have only one person, or more than 2 persons. But I can feel strongly that our way is very much based on "Boke and Tsukkomi". Black joke for example is not so popular here, I guess. Many of us like "Owarai" from "Boke and Tsukkomi" and new comedians are on TV one after another because Owarai is so popular in Japan.
Full Metal Panic, this one? ->http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfkgmEs_Kwg
As you can see "Boke and Tsukkomi" rule even in Anime to make audience laugh, I think it's the major way in Japan. I think humor is very difficult. It is interpreted in different ways depending on how we take it with our cultural background, experience, or knowledge. Let alone, when it's among people who are from different culture, it's sometimes confusing. In that way, I think I find American comedy not funny at all from time to time. Same can be said to foreigners, when they watch our Owarai, they may not feel funny at all sometimes…:S That's how I felt. :p
Let me comment on your blogpost. I have not read it yet. :p
December 20th, 2009 at 3:30 am
Sometimes we have only one person, or more than 2 persons. But I can feel strongly that our way is very much based on "Boke and Tsukkomi". Black joke for example is not so popular here, I guess. Many of us like "Owarai" from "Boke and Tsukkomi" and new comedians are on TV one after another because Owarai is so popular in Japan.
Full Metal Panic, this one? ->http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfkgmEs_Kwg
As you can see "Boke and Tsukkomi" rule even in Anime to make audience laugh, I think it's the major way in Japan. I think humor is very difficult. It is interpreted in different ways depending on how we take it with our cultural background, experience, or knowledge. Let alone, when it's among people who are from different culture, it's sometimes confusing. In that way, I think I find American comedy not funny at all from time to time. Same can be said to foreigners, when they watch our Owarai, they may not feel funny at all sometimes…:S That's how I felt. :p
Let me comment on your blogpost. I have not read it yet. :p
December 20th, 2009 at 3:44 am
It's OK, just like what I am rambling in this blog is only from one Japanese woman, which doesn't always represent entire Japanese people!
December 20th, 2009 at 3:06 pm
I might be stereotyping to say this but Asians are generally concern and sensitive to the feelings of others. Irony is usually used among very close friends and family.
But thank you for explaining your culture. I'm sure Belgians are actually nice people.
December 20th, 2009 at 9:53 pm
I was going to ask you what you meant by DINK. But i read the previous comments and found my answer. I wonder if you knew that dink is an old english slang with a derogitory meaning. If someone is being rude or acting in an unsofistticated mannor they might be refered to as a dink. A side note my aunt always refered to my father as dink. It was his nickname as a child.
I was happy to see this post. I saw a few videos on Utube about Christmas in Japan and asked the posters if it had a religious meaning or was just an excuse for selling merchandise in Japan. I never got an answer and I was frustrated by the lack of response. Then I saw your blog today and was very pleased with what you had written. Thank you for taking the time to explain this.
By the way I really liked the artwork from your last post and downloaded it to my computer. I hope you do not mind. I am using it as the background for my desktop. Very attractive.
December 21st, 2009 at 12:25 am
I didn't know the word "dink". I wonder why your father had such a nickname that spells and sounds the same as the word that means something bad? Is it common in English to nickname someone like that and those who are nicknamed the same as some bad words do not mind that at all? I just wondered… :p
If the posters of the videos didn't understand English, they wouldn't answer your question forever. I sometimes find videos taken by Japanese people where many of the same questions are commented in English but are all neglected. I don't think they do that on purpose, they just don't know how to reply…
If I knew the answer, I should join the conversation to reply for them in English.
Artwork…you mean DECOTTI? It's fine as long as you enjoy by yourself.
December 24th, 2009 at 1:16 pm
Hi Kirin, Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones! Hope you are enjoying a romantic Christmas eve dinner with your hubby now =D Even in my country, Christmas is also a commercialised event with Christmas gift shopping, Christmas feast, parties etc…… some of my non Christian friends even join the church goers for the midnite church service and the Christmas carolling ;d
December 25th, 2009 at 1:48 pm
Unfortunately, my hubby had to do overtime work (This is Japan!) and he came back late at night.
It's OK, Christmas is not even a national holiday in Japan… Hope you had a good time! 
December 28th, 2009 at 4:46 am
Happy Holidays Kirin! I have been away from blogging during this time of year since I tend to go all -out for Christmas. It is not a religious holiday for me since I am not Christian but Buddhist and we don't really have any Buddhist holidays except Losar (Tibetan Buddhist). Thus Christmas for me is about family, Santa Claus, traditions and great food. My family is not Christian either but non-religious so we really enjoy a Christmas that is probably more like it is in Japan. I think the Christmas Cakes are wonderful – I have a couple of tiny ones from Re-ment that are adorable. I've seen real ones in films too and in Flickr groups. We do go a little crazy here in the US at Christmas – parties, gift-giving, going into debt! I love it though and I am still listening to Christmas Carols and its three days past now. I just don't want it to end. I know that New Year's Day is big in Japan – I am anxious to read up on that. Have a great holiday season!
December 28th, 2009 at 8:51 am
I didn't know that you were blogging. Your signature is linked to intensedebate, where I was not able to find URL of your blog. ?_? It sounds like the atmosphere is quite the same in Japan. We party and make a fuss over Christmas, but Christmas is not a national holiday we have to work as usual.
Anyway…Happy holidays and a new year!
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