There’s a pretty decent chance that if you’re Japanese, you’re about to head off to pick up your (possibly reserved) Christmas Chicken from KFC… you know, because that’s how the rest of the world celebrates Christmas. Who knew The Colonel’s secret recipe was so… tricky!

In Japan, You Eat Chicken On Christmas

Ask almost any Japanese person (and I have asked many) why they eat KFC on Christmas. Almost every one of them will answer “isn’t that what you do?” (or, at the very least, they’ll ask “you don’t eat chicken, too?”). Apparently, over the years the colonel has been tricking Japanese people into thinking that the rest of the world does Christmas with KFC, so obviously the cool thing to do is follow suit.

Of course (unless I’m missing something here) a KFC Christmas almost anywhere else would be quite a sad affair. Even eating chicken on Christmas seems a bit weird to me, though I’m sure there are some who roast a chicken instead of a goose, or turkey, or ham, or whatever it is people normally make.

How Did This Happen?

Well, first of all, the meaning of Christmas is pretty lost in Japan. It’s almost entirely a commercial holiday (did I say almost? I meant completely). We have made up 100% commercial holidays too, though I gotta say, Japan knocks us out of the water in this category. Christmas in Japan essentially feels like a “how much can you spend on your girlfriend today?” kind of holiday. There’s a lot of pressure to buy expensive gifts (even rankings on TV showing what gifts are the best, with a very heavy focus on price), spend money on hotels, and really just spend a lot of money in between, too.

With all this focus on the commercial, it was probably super easy for KFC to slip in and take the show. All it took, I’m sure, was a few years of advertising campaigns around Christmas. I mean, c’mon, who can possibly resist Japanese commercials? I know I can’t.

Oh, and did I mention that Colonel Sanders kind of looks like Santa? He totally does.

Other Weird Japanese Christmas “Traditions”

KFC isn’t the only thing that makes Christmas in Japan unique. There are plenty of other things that could be considered “weird,” and we wrote about a good number of them a couple of years ago right here on Tofugu. But, just to make things simple, here’s a list of weird things, along with a few new ones.

• Along with their chicken, a lot of people eat “Christmas Cake,” also because “Americans do it.” Maybe it’s just me, but I’m pretty sure people don’t eat Christmas Cake (though I guess it makes sense, after all, we are supposedly celebrating a birthday, right?).
• A lot of Japanese people get it right (and know that Christmas is to celebrate Jesus’ birthday)… but there are a good number of people who think it’s to celebrate Santa’s birthday too. I’d give it a 60% Jesus, 20% don’t know, and 20% Santa’s birthday ratio, from the asking I’ve done.
• Christmas Eve is lovey-lovey date night. It’s kind of like Valentines in a way. Guys are supposed to spend uber amounts of money on girls, and possibly rent a hotel, because that’s what guys do. Expect to see lots of TV focusing on expensive things to buy and expensive hotel rooms to rent around this time.
• Christmas Eve is a night of miracles. Thank TV for this. Usually these miracles are romance related, though.
• Although this has changed much, and the “age at which women should get married” has also become less “strict,” unmarried girls who are older than 25 (because the 25th is Christmas) are called “Christmas Cakes,” because in order to sell a Christmas Cake after Christmas, they have to be put at big discounts (i.e., you’re supposed to get married before hitting 25). Like I said, this is and has changed quite a bit.

Merry Christmas From Tofugu, Too!

Oh, and Merry Christmas to everyone out there, too! Hope you have a great holiday, no matter what you celebrate (or don’t celebrate). Festivus for the Restivus?

Merry Christmas! Go do something nice for someone.

Apparently, somewhere in Nagoya, 外人さん (Mr. Foreigner) “costumes” consisting only of a nose and a pair of eyes are being sold. Not the most politically incorrect costume I’ve ever seen, but I thought it might be good for a chuckle (hopefully). Which makes me wonder, what do you perceive as the attitude Japanese people have toward foreigners? Here’s a little blurb from Wikipedia (the source of nearly all hastily gotten knowledge):

By global standards, Japan is highly homogenous ethnically. Thus, there are some issues which many non-Japanese find insensitive. The debate over these issues parallel the debate over political correctness in the West.

Anyway, you guys, have a good night, whatever you may be doing. We (the Tofugu team) probably won’t be doing much in the way of tricking or treating, so maybe we’ll finish up those other articles we’ve got waiting in the wings.

Source: merefflorescence

** 11/2 Edit: It’s not that Japanese don’t like foreigners. In my opinion, I would say that (generally speaking, of course) they merely find non-Japanese people to be intrinsically different from them. Not that foreigners aren’t human or anything, they’re just different. I think, perhaps, that it has something to do with the idea of uchi (内 or “inside”) and soto (外 or “outside”), too. Maybe we’ll explain this concept further in a different article, if anyone’s interested. Also, I feel that Japanese have a better sense of racial humor in general. They’re not too sensitive about that kind of thing. **