I am so excited to have Molly on the blog today to talk about Christmas in Japan! My very first Christmas as a wee one was spent on a military base in the northern part of Japan. Of course, I don’t remember it at all but I’ve heard stories from my parents about how much fun it was. This base is under joint operation of an air combat unit of the US Air Force and the aviation branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, so American and Japanese military servicemen and their families would combine traditions and celebrate together for the entire month (SO MANY PARTIES!). I so wish I had been old enough to remember! Molly’s experiences are much different from what my parents have told me about, so this was a very fun post to read about.

Hello! This is Molly! I blog as River at Cherry Blossoms & Maple Syrup and tweet as @innocencewalker on twitter. Many of you (most of you?) know that I used to live in Japan. And if you didn’t know, then I shall tell you more! I moved to Japan in 2007 to go to school in Tokyo for a year. After that I got a job and started teaching English in Saitama (an hour north of Tokyo) in 2008. I lived in Saitama for three years before getting married and moving back to Tokyo. That lasted for six months because my husband’s job transferred him up north to Tokai-mura where we then lived for two years before moving to the USA. I currently reside in Boston, MA. WHEW.

I’ve been invited to That Artsy Reader Girl to talk about Christmas in Japan! Yes Japanese people celebrate Christmas. I’ve found that a lot of Westerners are surprised by his because Japan isn’t really a Christian nation. But Japanese people do celebrate in their own way and they’ve kinda modified some of the Westerner traditions to fit the way they want to celebrate.

In Japan the Big Family Holiday is New Year. So imagine the way we celebrate Christmas; family time, big meal, religious ceremony (for some of us)… that’s Japanese New Year. Christmas in Japan actually kinda mirrors New Years Eve in the USA: dating! parties! drinking! The Christmas (and winter) season in Japan is very enjoyable… if you know what you’re going into. My first Christmas in Japan was depressing. I was in school, living with a host family, far away from my own family. My host family bought a Christmas cake and… that was it. I don’t even think anyone wished me a Merry Christmas. Major sigh.

Christmas cake you ask? Wtf is that? Not cookies? No! Let me first tell you about the weird Japanese Christmas food… cake and KFC. Yes. Cake and fried chicken.

In Japan in like the 1970’s, KFC ran a marketing campaign that basically convinced Japanese people that KFC was THE food to eat for Christmas… and it stuck. Turkey (a popular Western holiday dish… which is weird for me as an American cuz turkey is for Thanksgiving and ham is for Christmas (in my family)… but idk) isn’t common in Japan (you can strangely get it at Tokyo Disney Sea) so I guess chicken it was! Around the beginning of December KFC starts to hand out order forms and you’re encouraged to make your Christmas dinner order now!

Christmas cake is also a popular food item for Christmas. I remember when I taught English to children, they were always very excited to make the cake on or around Christmas eve. Oddly enough Christmas is Japan is celebrated on Christmas eve. Families get their KFC (or fried chicken alternative from the supermarket), moms and kids decorate the cake (or buy one if they’re too lazy/ not handy with a mixer) and they gather around the table and eat and drink and be merry. Santa comes for the children, usually leaving one gift on their bedside. And then on Christmas morning… the streets are cleared of all decorations and it’s like nothing ever happened.

Now, Christmas is two-fold in Japan. It’s celebrated with young children and their parents with KFC, cake, and merriment around the kitchen table. But what about teens? Young adults? Young working professionals? Well they go out on dates. Christmas eve is the most popular date night of the year. Think of it as a mix of NYE and Valentine ’s Day. Love hotels are booked all… night… long… Gifts are exchanged, feelings are confessed, and if you don’t have a date you’re basically a loser. (For real, I once didn’t have a date and my gay friends let me crash theirs so I didn’t reach total loser status). Groups of friends get together and have parties (with cake and chicken).

After meeting my husband (then boyfriend) and dating for a bit before hitting Christmas I had the fun idea of mixing up the two versions of Christmas I’ve come to know and love. I made a cake (it as chocolate) and bought some chicken from the store (later while living in Tokai we discovered that we could get smoked turkey legs on Christmas eve ONLY and that became a favorite) and I put up a small tree in the apartment. My mother made us both our own stockings and I taught him the art of stocking stuffers. To this day we celebrate this mix. We don’t really do the big gift exchange, but stocking stuffers are a must!

One thing Japan does INCREDIBLY well is decorate for Christmas! It’s all professionally done so it’s large displays for the public and not just some twinkle lights strung up outside the office by some intern. I miss the Japanese illuminations (they don’t call them Christmas lights) so much. I used to go around to all of the different displays in Tokyo and take photos I’ve never seen such elaborate displays! They usually go up around the beginning of December and then are promptly taken down Christmas morning.

So what do you think about Christmas in Japan? Sound like something you’d like to try? Sound totally bizarre? I used to get SO annoyed about how “wrong” some of the things were, but now… I kinda miss it…

I’m so happy to have Bella from Ciao Bella! on the blog today to talk about some of her favorite Christmas TV specials! I love catching these on TV every year (except I’ve never even heard of Prep and Landing… Does that mean I’m old?)!

When Jana requested submissions for her A Bookish Little Christmas, I jumped at the opportunity – how could I turn down such a chance to share my love of the holiday season? Though I can find something to like about every month, December is by far my favorite. I adore the thoughtful gift exchanges among friends; I take every excuse to bake a batch of holiday cookies; and I rejoice in the time I can spend with my family (I suppose the weeklong vacation from school doesn’t hurt either!). It’s busy, of course, but I believe what’s stressful about the season is outweighed by the widespread joy it brings. I would be hard-pressed to find a more festive time of year.

In the weeks leading up to Christmas, if I’m not wrapping presents or decorating the tree, I’m most likely by the television, with a blanket and a bowl of popcorn in hand. Year after year, I carve out time to watch my favorites of the television specials, whether that’s Charlie Brown picking out a tree or Rudolph aiding Santa in his time of need. Regardless of when they were made, the specials capture the spirit of Christmas; I’ve yet to finish one without a smile on my face. Narrowing them down from the wide selection was difficult, believe me, but I managed to highlight five of the best holiday specials around. Five doses of holiday cheer coming up!

Rankin-Bass’s Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town is a Christmas classic. Released in 1970, it tells how “Old Saint Nick” and other traditions came to be in charming stop-motion animation. This is a beloved special in my family, not in the least because of its memorable characters, including Kris Kringle, the Winter Warlock, and the Burgermeister Meisterburger. If you haven’t seen it already – or maybe you’re simply due for a re-watch – you would do well to make time for it this year!

How could you celebrate Christmas without including Charlie Brown in the festivities? The Peanuts gang’s television appearance is a staple for several holidays, but none are so widely acclaimed as their Christmas episode, where Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy, and the others learn the true meaning of the season. While it premiered long before I was born – the special made its debut in December 1965 – it makes me happy that generations young and old can enjoy it.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas is a rare example in which I like the television adaptation more than the book itself. Dr. Suess’ famous character grows from Whoville’s resident Christmas hater to a benevolent guest at the holiday feast in the span of thirty minutes, once again demonstrating the most important part of the season. Watch it and try not to feel a twinge of emotion when it’s declared that “the Grinch’s small heart grew three sizes that day.”

The Prep and Landing series began in 2009, when Disney-Pixar released their first holiday program about the elves of Santa’s workshop. The special has since grown to include the sequel Prep and Landing: Naughty vs. Nice and the short film Operation: Secret Santa. Regardless of which Wayne and Lanny adventure you watch {I’m partial to the first one myself}, I can guarantee it will put you in the holiday mood quicker than you can say “Merry Christmas!”

Finally, Elf: Buddy’s Musical Christmas may be the most recent example of these five, but that certainly doesn’t lessen the quality of the special. As the name suggests, it’s based after another favorite holiday film, Elf, and brings the songs of its musical adaptation to the small screen. With Jim Parsons voicing Buddy and Ed Asner reprising his role as Santa Claus, it’s clearly a worthy addition to any holiday television schedule. I can’t wait to catch it again this year!

What are some of your favorite Christmas TV specials?