In Japan, they do Christmas a little differently.
Which, considering they’re not a Christian country, makes perfect sense.
Although introduced by Christian missionaries in the 16th Century, Christmas didn’t fully enter the Japanese consumer consciousness until after WW2. Influenced by the occupying US troops, the Japanese adopted what they believed were Western Christmas customs, but in doing so, inadvertently created their own unique traditions.
Strawberry shortcake and Christmas KFC are the best examples of this.
Prior to WW2, the Japanese didn’t really consume a lot of desserts. However after the war, US GIs were fond of handing out chocolates and sweet treats and soon the nation’s collective sweet-tooth grew, along with their desire to “Americanise”.
In an effort to be more American, Christmas was adopted, trees were decorated, presents were exchanged and the Japanese Christmas cake, a sponge cake filled with cream and decorated with strawberries, was born.
Photo by Takuya Nagaoka on Unsplash
A few decades later, this cake would find its way onto your phone: 🍰
The desire to Americanise also explains why you’ll also find a bucket of KFC on the Christmas dinner table in Japan.
Every Christmas, millions of buckets of the Colonel’s special recipe are consumed by the Japanese in lieu of traditional Christmas turkey.
Photo by Sheri Hooley on Unsplash
KFC restaurants are also a popular choice for young Japanese couples, eager for a romantic Christmas Eve dining experience.
Photo by Aleks Dorohovich on Unsplash
The choice to eat chicken at Christmas could be due to the fact that in Asia turkey is hard to come by, expensive to import and tricky to cook (especially as the majority of Japanese homes don’t have ovens).
However, aggressive marketing campaigns probably have a lot more to do with it.
Merii Kurisumasu!
Read more about Christmas in Japan here.
RESOURCES AND FURTHER READING:
Am I Reading Too Much into This? 
That was really fun! I’d rather pick up food than be responsible for that damn duck this year … but I do wonder what makes KFC romantic 😉
Yeah, there’s a certain convenience to a KFC Christmas which is definitely appealing but the romance….eh, don’t see it myself.
Just out of interest, is Christmas duck tricky to cook?
For once, it is tricky to fit into our oven. I’m not a great chef but the secret to most things is 180 degrees and a lot of time & patience. That usually works 😉 Still, hosting Christmas is NOT my favorite … You get critizised just the same but you had to Spring clean your place for a week. Oh, what fun. (Sorry, I’m a bit of a Grinch)
Grinch away! Christmas can be challenging. Hope you have a good one 🙂
Ta! Dito xoo
Enjoyed reading this.😊 Had visited your country years ago, a more beautiful place I’ve yet to see…Merii Kurisumasu !
Thank you 🙂 Merry Christmas to you too! 🎄
That looks like a lovely sponge cake baby…yum! Hope you had a good one!
Yeah, they’re quite delicious! Thanks for your comment 🙂 Happy New Year!
This is an excellent post! Who’d of thought it!!!
Thank you! 🙂
I miss Japanese short cake 🍰!!!
I know! It’s so delicious 😍