Christmas In Japan

Christmas in Japan is more like Valentine's Day.

The Japanese Christmas is a time to express romantic love.
This time of the year people do the most Romantic Things to do in Tokyo.

Don't forget to check out Best Tokyo places for Christmas Decorations.

Christmas in Japan is very different from the way Christmas is celebrated in other countries. Christmas is mostly a commercial event in Japan.

December 25th is not a national holiday in Japan. Japanese people work and go to school as usual.

Only about 1% of the Japanese population is Christian, the major religion in Japan is Buddhism and Shinto.
But in spite of that, the Japanese are very fond of celebrations, and Japanese Christmas is a big thing here.

Preparations for Christmas in Tokyo begin early.
People spend on Christmas trees, Santa clauses, Christmas gifts and Christmas decorations.

Christmas Traditions In Japan

Christmas In Japan is not a family occasion.

Children do receive presents from a Buddhist monk who is seen as the Japanese equivalent of Santa Claus ('Hotei-Osho').
Hotei-osho "leaves Christmas gifts" for the children in every house.

Japanese Christmas celebrations take place on Christmas Eve and not on December 25, the actual Christmas Day.
Christmas Eve is celebrated by eating a Christmas cake, made of sponge cake, strawberries and whipped cream. Stores drop the price of it drastically on December 25th in order to sell everything out by the 26th.

In recent years the Christmas Chicken dinner has become very popular. Many Japanese make reservations for their 'Christmas Chicken' ahead of time at Kentucky Fried Chicken!
Most Japanese believe that Westerners celebrate Christmas with a chicken dinner (from Kentucky...).

Christmas Eve has been built up by the media as being a Romantic time, so it holds a special meaning for young people, especially women and teenagers.
Like Valentine's Day in the USA, men are expected to express their love for the women in their lives. It's the big time for anyone selling Teddy Bears, flowers and jewels.

Fancy restaurants and hotels are fully booked in advance. The whole evening must be very special, gorgeous and romantic.
For elderly couples, many Tokyo hotels host dinner shows. Tickets are very pricey.

Sending Christmas cards to friends is another one of the Christmas traditions in Japan. A Japanese Christmas card is a popular custom here.

End of the year gifts (between companies and to the boss) are a Japanese Christmas custom(Oseibo).
Year-end presents are also given to people who have done you a favor during the year - teachers, and family friends.
The custom is to purchase the gifts at department stores, so the receiver can check the price and return something which is around the same sum.

Christmas In Japan parties get mixed with the Bounenkai (forget-the-year-parties).
Companies, hobby groups, sports groups often have drinking parties, known as Bonenkai.
So, this season typically ends with streets and subways full of drunk people.

If you'd like to learn the Christmas greeting in Japanese - its 'Meri Kurisumasu'.

History Of Japanese Christmas

In 1639, the Tokugawa shoguns adopted a policy of isolation in order to stabilize their power, and banned all international trade. The missionaries were thrown out of Japan. All locals who practiced Christianity were killed.

The history in Japan was cut off from the rest of the world.

Christianity along with Christmas practices reemerged at the beginning of the Meiji period.

During World War II, all celebrations and customs, especially those from America, were understandably stopped.

From the sixties, the influence of American TV dramas with the rapid growth of "the bubble economy" in Japan turned Christmas popular again (and very commercial).

Don't forget to check out Best Tokyo places for Christmas Decorations in Japan.


Search TokyoTopGuide.com