The most common question I get about Japan during December is: Do the Japanese celebrate Christmas? The answer is "Yes or no." The Japanese, who love anything sparkly with lights, could not resist importing Christmas. But since Japan is a Buddhist country and Christmas has no religious meaning to them, they imported only the fun parts..
Christmas in Japan has also developed into a romantic holiday for couples, a sort of Valentine's Day in December. So on Christmas Eve, couples will go to a nice restaurant for dinner and may exchange Christmas gifts. But be warned, "Christmas Dinner," which every restaurant will advertise, does not mean traditional Christmas food such as turkey, stuffing, ham, etc as you might eat at home with your family. Christmas Dinner merely means dinner at Christmas time.
The Japanese have another unusual Christmas tradition:Christmas cakes are also popular. Not fruitcakes, but round, two-layered, store-bought cakes with chocolate or white icing and Santas gracing the top.
The most similar Japanese holiday to Christmas is New Year's. New Year's is a serious holiday in Japan in which all family members get together from far and wide and eat traditional New Year's foods that are only eaten at this time of year. There are also traditional New Year's decorations. There are no big New Year's parties nor count downs like we have in the West.
In short, Christmas in Japan is more like New Year's is to us—just a fun holiday.
XII A3-38
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