How is X-mas celebrated in your country?

Christmas isn’t nearly as big of a holiday in Japan as it is in western countries.
In Japan, New Years is the biggest holiday.

In Japan, Xmas is a regular workday and many people don’t even bother to celebrate it at all.
Generally speaking, X-mas Eve is considered a romantic evening for couples to go on a date…often to a place with X-mas Illumination, and either on X-mas Eve or X-mas Day families eat a Christmas dinner (often of Kentucky Fried Chicken).
Champagne and “Christmas cake” are popular parts of a X-mas dinner in Japan too.

Japanese X-mas cake (from "Fujiya")

To give you an idea of how X-mas is spent in Japan, some statistics from a poll taken by monitoring group conducting a poll of Japanese people (the respondents were a ratio of 50:50 male:female and between the ages of 20-60):

• How do you spend Christmas?
  – Relax at home 45%
  – Nothing special 19%
  – Party at home 17%
  – Go on a date 10%
  – Go drinking 5%
  – Take a trip 4%

• Who do you spend X-mas with?
  – Family 64%
  – Boyfriend / girlfriend 11%
  – Undecided 11%
  – Alone 8%
  – Friends 5%
  – Other 1%

• What will you eat on X-mas? (multiple answers OK)
  – Christmas cake 61%
  – Roast chicken 53%
  – Fried chicken 47%
  – Pizza 39%
  – Salad 35%
  – Sushi 25%

• What will you drink on X-mas? (multiple answers OK)
  – Beer 44%
  – Champagne 43%
  – Wine 36%
  – Other 29%

How important is Christmas in your country? What is your country’s biggest holiday?
How is X-mas celebrated in your country?

Pizza Burger

I wrote a post about how, for many people in Japan, “Christmas dinner” = Kentucky Fried Chicken.

It’s been that way for years.

And I also wrote another post about how McDonalds in Japan is offering a special chicken meal set for Christmas this year in attempt to take some of the lucrative X-mas chicken-dinner market from Kentucky Fried Chicken of Japan.

Well, it seems that Burger King Japan has decided to jump on the bandwagon.

But rather than try to compete directly with Kentucky Fried Chicken (which would probably be a futile attempt since if Japanese people don’t prepare their own X-mas dinner they almost inevitably have chicken from KFC), Burger King Japan is offering a “NY Pizza Burger Set” as their holiday set.

The huge Pizza Burger (which meant to shared by six or so people) can be ordered 単品 (singularly, without the “set”) for ¥1,680. Or a single burger “slice” can be bought for ¥320.

But the entire “Holiday Set” can be purchased until 2010 December 30th for ¥2,980.

This set comes with one Pizza Burger (serves six), a salad, an order of “BK Chicken Tenders”, an order of “BK Cheese Bits”, and an order of onion rings.

メリークリスマス

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.

Xmas time

It’s Christmas time…and Xmas is celebrated in Japan, but not to the extent that it is in Western countries.
In Japan, New Years is the biggest holiday. Actually, Xmas isn’t a legal holiday here…I mean, it’s a work day (unless it falls on the weekend).

In Japan, クリスマス (Christmas) is mainly for couples and families with children.
Couples often go on a date to look and クリスマス・イルミネーション (Xmas illumination).
(Click here to visit a website that shows many places around Japan to see クリスマス・イルミネーション (Xmas illumination). (That site’s in 日本語 (Japanese) only)).

And they may also go to 東京ディズニーリゾート (Tokyo Disneyland or Tokyo DisneySea) for the Disney Christmas event that they have there (of course, this is less popular with couples who aren’t in the Tokyo area).

Families with children may also go to 東京ディズニーリゾート (Tokyo Disneyland or Tokyo DisneySea), if they’re in this area.

But in Japan, most homes aren’t decorated for Xmas…especially uncommon are Christmas trees. Stores and shopping malls, on the other hand, are very decorated for Christmas from November until Xmas day (after that, the decorations quickly change to the more important New Years decorations).

In Japan, Santa Clause will leave presents near the pillows of young children in Japan on Christmas Eve. On average, Japanese children receive fewer Xmas presents than children in Western countries.

On Christmas Day, it’s popular for families to have a Christmas dinner. But it’s different from Xmas dinners in other countries.
When Japanese people think of Christmas dinner, most think of Kentucky Fried Chicken® and a strawberry poundcake that is called クリスマス・ケーキ (Christmas cake).

Kentucky Fried Chicken® started a campaign about thirty years ago at Christmastime by decorating their shops for the holiday and offering set meals advertised as American style Christmas dinners.
And now, on Christmas Day, Kentucky Fried Chicken® always has long lines outside their stores and their deliverymen are driving all around town on the Kentucky Fried Chicken® mopeds.

The KFC 「パーティ・バーレル」 (“Party Barrel“):

At Christmastime, KFC Japan even sells 1% alcohol bottles of “Christmas champagne”.

Kentucky Fried Chicken® isn’t the only ones busy at Christmas in Japan, cake shops have lines of customers buying the クリスマス・ケーキ (Christmas cakes):