Explore everyday life in Japan
Christmas is celebrated in Japan.
And, though this probably comes as no surprise to many of you, it is celebrated in its own unique way. Just how unique, I suppose, depends on where you live and how you celebrate Christmas. Me being an American, the story I am familiar with is that Santa Claus lives with his wife, Mrs. Claus, in the North Pole. If you ask Japanese children where Santa lives, chances are, the majority of them will tell you that he lives in Finland, or maybe even Sweden.
As I write this, it occurs to me just how much the American story of Santa and his image were created by Clement Clark Moore with his poem The Night Before Christmas, and Robert L. May's story of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Without these two stories, would I think of Santa Claus as a plump, jolly old man with ten flying reindeer and the ability to move up and down chimneys? Probably not.
Seeing as how neither of these two stories have become as popular in Japan as they are in America, and seeing the ways in which they have been changed by translation (For example, the song Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer is translated simply as Red-Nosed Reindeer), it's not surprising to hear that children in Japan, for the most part, don't know Rudolph's name or that there is a Mrs. Claus.
Japan is a country that picks up bits and pieces of language and culture from all over the world. As it does so, it tends to adjust these things so that they better fit Japanese society.
In Japan, the Christmas lights we put on houses in the States have become huge light displays at ski mountains, play centers, department stores, etc. that people go on dates and family getaways to see. Christmas cookies and pies, also popular in America, have been replaced with Christmas cakes. Turkey, ham, beef, and goose have, for whatever reason, been passed over as the Christmas dinner of choice for fried chicken. And presents, generally one per child, rather than being put under the Christmas tree in the middle of the night, tend to be placed on or near a child's pillow.
Which of these customs do you recognize?
Happy Holidays Everyone
This is an ongoing series that will explore various aspects of daily life in Japan. My hope is that this series will not only reveal to its followers, image by image, what Japan looks like, but that it will also inform its followers about unique Japanese items and various cultural and societal practices. If you are interested in getting regular updates about life in Japan, please consider following me at @boxcarblue. If you have any questions about life in Japan, please don’t hesitate to ask. I will do my best to answer all of your questions.