Today is X-mas. So, “Merry Christmas“.
In Japan, people often eat Kentucky Fried Chicken for their X-mas dinner.
(Click here to see my post about it last year.)
Japanese 「ケンタッキーフライドチキン」 (Kentucky Fried Chicken) stores are very crowded on X-mas Eve and X-mas Day. And they have a special “X-mas Menu”:
(Besides Christmas, Japan also has another unique relationship with Kentucky Fried Chicken…the “Curse Of The Colonel“. Click here to read my post about it.)
Anyways, as I’ve mentioned before, X-mas isn’t even a legal holiday in Japan. But, New Years is Japan’s biggest holiday.
And of Japan’s numerous music TV shows, the one that airs on New Years Eve is the biggest.
It’s called 「紅白歌合戦」 (“Red and White Music Battle“).
It’s a four and a half hour music special and ends in a countdown at midnight on New Years Eve.
Artists who are invited to appear on this show are considered the hottest acts in Japan because of the importance of this show in an artist’s career in Japan.
A number of foreign artists have appeared on this show over the years. Namely, Cyndi Lauper, Paul Simon, and Sarah Brightman, among others.
This year, the English singer Susan Boyle is scheduled to perform live on the show.
Tokyo Five 
Happy holidays to you too.
I know this has probably been said a lot but Ms. Boyle is one of the ugliest people I have ever seen. She is a great singer but that photo of her is hideous.
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>Happy holidays to you too.
Thank you. You, too.
>I know this has probably been said a lot but Ms. Boyle is one of the ugliest people I have ever seen.
It’s not said alot in Japan. That’s kinda mean.
It seems that record companies like to promote beautiful people singing the music…but she doesn’t have to look like a model to be a good singer.
Her music isn’t actually my style…but I still think she’s a great singer.
Anyways, she arrived in Tokyo this morning with a crowd or Japanese reporters and fans greeting her at the airport.
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T5: MELE KALIKIMAKA = Merry Christmas. (Hawaiian)
Peace and Love to you and your family!
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Thank you.
The Hawaiian language looks difficult! Can you speak it well?
Is it used alot in Hawaii?
In Japan, X-mas has passed…so now until the end of December we say “Yoi-otoshi-o” (“Have a nice New Year!”)
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Merry Christmas! Say hi to the Colonel for me!
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It’s not even midnight on December 24th here. I still have an entire day! It’s been quite a learning experience about Christmas in other countries, especially Japan.
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I don’t know what time-zone you’re in, but Japan is 8- 14 hours ahead of the U.S. (depending on which U.S. time-zone, and whether the U.S. is in “daylight savings time” or not).
What did you learn about Japanese X-mas?
Did you learn it from my blog?
And what other countries’ Xmas did you learn about?
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メリークリスマス (Merry Xmas) to you too.
OK. Actually though, tonight we’re eating chicken dinner…but not KFC (we like KFC enough, but we usually have home-cooked chicken at Xmas).
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I’m on the Eastern seaboard, in New York (the Long Island region). It’s currently 3:16 am. I’m a night owl.
I’ve learned about Japan, and I’ve posted entries for Sweden (http://galileo908.blogspot.com/2009/12/better-know-christmas-sweden.html) and I just posted an entry on Great Britain (http://galileo908.blogspot.com/2009/12/better-know-christmas-great-britain.html). I’m trying to get to entries on The Netherlands, Austria and Germany for now.
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You’re on the U.S. east-coast…then Japan is 13 – 14 hours ahead of your timezone (depending on whether you’re using “Daylight Savings Time” or not).
Just wondering…but why are you so interested in the Xmas customs of so many countries?
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And today is the first time I hear KFC is the top most famous and most eaten fast food during Xmas in Japan. How about McDonald’s? Dont they have a Xmas special too?
Merry Christmas. May your day be filled with peace, love & happiness with your family around you.
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No, McDonalds in Japan isn’t popular at Xmas and they don’t have a special Xmas menu.
Does McDonalds have a Xmas set meal in your country?
To Japanese people, Xmas dinner means chicken and a strawberry-shortcake “Xmas cake” for dessert.
So KFC and cake shops do alot of business this time of year in Japan.
Recently, the Japanese fast-food chain MOS Burger and some convenience stores have been offering Xmas chicken set meals.
I don’t know how well they’re doing compared to KFC though.
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