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Merry Christmas from Tadashi

Hawk

on Dec. 25, 2013

Ever wonder what Christmas is like in Japan?  In Western countries
it’s usually the biggest holiday of the year, the largest driver of the
economy, and a time set aside for family.
In Japan, they eat a cake.
Adults still go to work, children still go to school, and at some
point during the day, typically after a regular meal, the family has a
quick, simple cake.  Christmas DOES tend to have a commercial presence
there too, since a lot of stores will have what they call a “Christmas
Sale”.  But they’re just selling their regular stuff, plus a few
motorized dancing Santas that play the song “Jingle Bell Rock”.  Santa
takes the role of a cute little foreign emblem that people find funny.
As you may have guessed for an Asian country, the big holiday is New
Years Day, which is called “Oshogatsu’.  THIS is time when the family
gets together, presents are exchanged, and basically a large portion of
the country shuts down to celebrate.  Just like Christmas in the West,
there are a lot of cool and interesting traditions that take place, and
it’s a very fun and fascinating holiday in its own ways.
During my time in Japan, Christmas was sort of a bummer.  Being away
from your family isn’t very fun, plus the fact that Christmas isn’t
really celebrated really makes you miss home a bit.  But there are a lot
of great things going on in Japan around the same time, and that helps a
lot.