Japanese christmas gift & decorations

If you are visiting before the New Year in Japan, you will find many things traditionally associated with Christmas: decorations, Christmas markets, and magnificent lights. You can also discover a few unique Japanese traditions with numerous charms that can and should be appreciated in their own right. So while it may be a little different from what you might be used to, Christmas is still felt and celebrated in the land of the rising sun. Here is list of how different christmas is in Japan.

Christmas gifts in Japan

When planning a Christmas visit, you should bring gifts for your hosts. Popular gift ideas include local specialities (sanchokuhin), as well as beverages and small items of everyday use (cosmetics, cutlery, small mugs). Giving shoes, watches or writing supplies is frowned upon, however. If you'd like to send a gift from Poland, traditional Polish sweets, Polish alcohol products and souvenirs related to Poland will be a good choice. Keep in mind that if you are going to give a present to a Japanese person, you should tell them of your intention as you enter their home, but actually give the present just before leaving.

Christmast celebration

In Japan, Christmas in known as more of a time to spread happiness rather than a religious celebration. Christmas Eve is often celebrated more than Christmas Day. Christmas Eve is thought of as a romantic day, in which couples spend together and exchange presents. In many ways it resembles Valentine's Day celebrations in the UK and the USA. Young couples like to go for walks to look at the Christmas lights and have a romantic meal in a restaurant - booking a table on Christmas Eve can be very difficult as it's so popular.

Christmas is not a national holiday in Japan. However, often schools are closed on Christmas Day. The Emperor's birthday is a national holiday on the 23rd December and there's also a New Year school break. So the holiday break often starts around the 23rd. But most businesses will treat the 25th as a 'normal' working day.

Christmas food

What may be considered as the unique Christmas Celebrations in Japan are Christmas Cakes, Fried Chicken , and ‘Daiku’. The cake usually is a decorated sponge cake with miniature figures of trees, flowers, and Santa Claus. Fried chicken has become the traditional meal (in Particular KFC – as the marketing surround Col. Sanders, still a common figure in Japan, dressed in Santa Garb) while the Daiku, which is the Ninth Symphony of Beethoven, the favorite music of the season. Meanwhile, the only cultural or public celebration of the season and the most important in the year is the New Year’s Day. The houses are cleaned and decorated and the family goes around the house to drive evil spirits out and draw in good luck in a manner probably influence by the Chinese.

Santa in Japan

Luckily for Japanese children, the concept of Santa Claus is one Christmas tradition that is alive and well in Japan. Like other children worldwide, Japanese kids also look forward to a visit from Santa on Christmas Eve and a present waiting for them on Christmas morning. Couples also may exchange presents for Christmas, but generally speaking, gift-giving plays a considerably smaller role than it does in Western countries. One unique twist on the lore: in the Western tradition, Santa enters homes by climbing down chimneys - an act difficult to do in a nation where most homes lack this sort of entrance! However, ask most Japanese children, and they'll have an interesting take: Santa is typically seen as some kind of magical ghost that appears with goodies.

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