Well no, they are not exactly religious, but man they love some Christmas. There are decorations all over, giant lit up snowmen,and house decor. All the store fronts are decorated in Christmas style and you see green, red, and gold everywhere. Sometimes, since I live in a city, I feel more in the Christmas spirit than I did in the US.
This is not to say that they are Christian. They just like the decorations, the holiday, and the presents. This is actually less of a holiday for families in Japan and more of a holiday for couples. I was told that a great many hotels and love hotels get booked pretty far in advance for the coming of this holiday.
One of the traditions that I really like is the Japanese idea of a Christmas cake. Okay, so I know there are some other Christmas cakes out there; there is the Bouche de Noel, of which I am very fond, and there are some at-home traditions, too. But being American and all, I don't recall a Christmas cake that everyone partakes in... In Japan they typicaly do a vanilla cake with white whipped frosting. However, the most important part lies in the decoration: the strawberries. For whatever reason, Christmas cakes in Japan all have strawberries. I love this season here because it makes buying strawberries out of season very easy and very cheap if you buy the slightly over ripened ones. And let me tell you, I don't remember strawberries tasting this good!
Another good one is having fried chicken for your Christmas meal. Apparently many Japanese people will head out to the local KFC for some good old country fried chicken for their big family dinner!
Other differences between American and Japanese traditions lie in the tree. Sure, in Japan a few families might have a tree, but I do not believe it to be too popular. Additionally, the tree is fake. I have not seen a live tree being sold anywhere, kind of like my pumpkin search of Halloween. They don't seem to be too big on getting once living things and using them to decorate their homes for the season. But that does not mean they don't know how to decorate! Just look at these pictures!
And here is a look at Arashiyama in part of the Keihanshin Christmas light festival:
And lastly here are a few videos of a spectacular light show seen in Osaka as part of the Keihanshin:
An after edit featuring a light show which can be seen from my own city that is projected onto our...
Sun Monster
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