メリークリスマス！！！

December 25 is not a national holiday in Japan.  If its on a weekday, there is work and school on Christmas day.  And although Japanese are mostly Shinto (神道) and Buddhist (仏教 ), many actually celebrate Christmas, but it’s a different Christmas compared to how Christians celebrate it.

Its more of a commercialized celebration, like  birthday and Valentine’s day combined.  Among family members, Christmas is celebrated more for the children than for the entire family.  Parents with really young children give gifts to them as the tradition of Santa Claus (サンタクロース ) is practiced in may homes.  That means that when the child stops believing in Santa, the gift giving stops.  Homes may have Christmas trees and decors influenced by the image of Christmas in western countries.

For the older couples, they would attend a very pricey “dinner show” (ディナーショー) in hotels featuring famous performance artists,  Japanese and foreign acts.  You’ll be surprised to see some really famous American performers headlining these dinner shows.

Friends would exchange gifts and have a party, although its not really a Christmas party.  They call it “Bonenkai” (忘年会), its more like an “end of year party” where most just get drunk.  (looking at Wiki for “Bonenkai”, this is the photo they used which pretty much explains what its all about).  Companies and organizations (schools, sports, hobby, etc.) would also have their Bonenkai.  With so many of this going on, its interesting to see the contrasts of one of the most breathtaking Christmas decors all over the city and the many, many intoxicated people of various degrees all over the city, on the streets, subways and trains.

One unique tradition in Japanese Christmas, whether with family, colleagues or friends, is that they must eat a Christmas cake (クリスマスケーキ ) on Christmas eve.  Every cake shop would sell a Christmas-themed cake, and in my opinion, one of the best looking and best tasting cakes you’ll ever encounter.  These Christmas cakes will have a drastic discount on the 25th for cake shops to get rid of all the cakes before the 26th.  This practice as resulted in young girls being called a “Christmas cake” which means that they are marriageable until they are 25 years old, but require heavy discount after that! (link: Daimaru Department Store accepting Christmas cake reservations and delivery as gift. They have different cake choices depending on which brand you are ordering from!( www.daimaru.jp/d/christmas-cake.html)

There is a lot of shopping and gift-giving during Christmas too.  Parents finding the best gift for their children.  A man may be scrambling to find that perfect gift that his girlfriend or the woman he’s interested in is expecting, like a Dior wallet, Channel bag, Tiffany or 4C accessories, Prada stilettos, Bulgari watch, etc.  A woman would be doing the same, buying mostly branded wallet by Gucci, bag by Paul Smith, accessories by Garni, watch by Omega, or she would be making something special for her man.  One thing that may be uniquely Japan is the giving of “oseibo” (お歳暮) or an “end of the year” gift, usually given to people whom you feel indebted to. (link: Takashimaya Department Store online store with its vast selection of suggested Oseibo gifts. http://www.takashimaya.co.jp/shopping/wintergift/index.html）

But more than spending it with family and friends, Christmas is for the lovey-dovey couples.  Christmas in Japan is an eve of romance and more romance.  A haiku (俳句) I saw online expressed the sentiments of many women during this season: 『今の彼　クリスマスまで　もたせなきゃ』　（ｂｙ　ゆきこ、仲畑貴志編：万能川柳名作濃縮版上下（毎日新聞社、２０００）.  It would be impossible to make last minute reservations in restaurants and overnight booking at hotels on Christmas eve （クリスマスイブ）. Particularly for the women, where, with whom, how you spend Christmas eve is very critical.  The ideal Christmas eve would be something very gorgeously romantic with an awesome gift from your romantic partner, something that is picture perfect.  Those with boyfriends would be really showing off the fact that they are in a relationship or that they have a date that night.  Those without one would probably be in hiding.

If you plan to spend Christmas in Japan, it would be memorable to get into how they really celebrate it.  It will certainly be a multi-sensory experience.  You will smell the various Christmas-themed scents and also the smell of alcohol.  You will hear the Christmas carols sang in English and in Japanese as well as Christmas-themed J-Pop music which are sentimental and coll (link: Tatsuro Yamashita, one of my favorite singer’s “Christmas Eve” http://www.imeem.com/people/bdum-go/music/UKdYzcuJ/tatsuro-yamashita-christmas-eve/)

You will taste all the appetizing dishes that are best eaten during the winter months. And yes, remember to have yourself a slice of that delicious and fancy Christmas cake!  You will see everything “kawaii”, creative and uniquely Japanese everywhere you look and I mean everywhere.  Shutterbugs will have a blast!  With all that and more, just imagine how wonderful you would feel.

Now, who wants to go to Japan and celebrate クリスマス with me?

Contributor:

Ms. Yumi Calderon , Japanese interpreter, trainer and consultant