メリークリスマス

Merry Christmas, merii kurisumasu, メリークリスマス!

Yes, Japan does in fact celebrate Christmas, just not the way Christians, or even Jewish people, are used to. Christmas has made its way over to Japan just like many other aspects of Western culture. And since only 1% of the population is Christian, it has no real religious significance for people living here. Instead it's become the most romantic holiday in Japan for couples or an excuse for kids to get presents. However, since the 25th is not a holiday for the Japanese, the special dinners are celebrated on Christmas Eve instead of the actual day. Your traditional Japanese Christmas dinner will consist of Kentucky Fried Chicken and for dessert, a Christmas cake! Because that's what Japanese people think Westerners do, so they mimic us by going to our Western fast food chains. Can you imagine taking your loved one to a KFC as a romantic gesture? The KFC Christmas dinner has become so popular that you need to order months in advance to get a bucket of fried chicken prepared for pick up.

Can't wait to eat my Christmas cake

Little something extra on the last day

As you can see from the photo, I once again dressed up to help talk about an American holiday. I started off pretty ambitiously, trying to explain in Japanese about the various traditions and Santa stories we have in the USA, like decorating Christmas trees and how Santa comes down the chimney. Most importantly, I had to correct the notion that the Christmas cake was something Japan took from the US. The tree part they found interesting (you bring it IN the house?!) but since Japanese homes don't have chimneys, there was a bit of a snag there (How does Santa deliver them to the Japanese kids?). And also, it was just too much to pack in as well as holding an activity to make the class fun. So while kid made Christmas cards, I rocked out to Christmas carols dancing around the classroom lip syncing Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas is You"

Perhaps the best thing that happened over the course of these past 3 weeks teaching Christmas lesson after Christmas lesson, was on the last day, it began to snow as I taught my first class of the day. By the time the period was over it had stopped and nothing was left on the ground, but it was still pretty magical