My answer is: compared to Canada, 同じでも、ちがう。In English - the same but different than Canada. Christmas has long been present at Costco, just as in Canada. Christmas music started in Japan on November 1st, right after Halloween. There is no equivalent of Remembrance Day in Japan, thus they don't wait until November 12th to start the season. Starbucks was all decorated for Christmas on November 1st. It felt weird to be in full holiday mode before Remembrance Day. In actual fact, I didn't embrace the holidays until after Remembrance Day.
Christmas in Japan is all about the Christmas cake. That's the big tradition on Christmas Eve - the husband/father brings home a Christmas cake and the family enjoys a meal together. The meal is usually chicken, as turkey is rather hard to come by and to cook here. Ovens are soooooo tiny!!! So, a popular Christmas dinner is KFC... I think this started in the 80's or 90's as the result of a brilliant marketing plan by KFC.
Christmas cake is not at all like our Christmas cakes. In Japan there is stollen, but that isn't what they mean when they say Christmas cake. An ideal Christmas cake is a white cake with strawberries and cream. Aka strawberry shortcake! So weird. They also have buche Noel and Baum kuchen. You have to order your Christmas cake in advance and it is very expensive. They usually start at about $30 for a small cake. You can order your cake from almost anywhere, including 7/11.
The Japanese have adopted our tradition of Christmas trees. They don't have real ones however, just plastic ones. The mall by my apartment has a giant Christmas tree! It's lovely. I have invested in a tiny plastic tree from the 100 yen store. It's a sad, poorly decorated tree, but it's a tree.
Another marker of Christmas, or in actual fact, winter, is the appearance of hot drinks in the vending machines. I love this about Japan. So convenient. There is nothing better on a freezing cold train platform than having a warm drink in your hands.
In the stores, Christmas goodies and omiyage (souvenir) packs appear. It is popular to buy a massive box of お菓子 (sweets or confections) for the office. Gift giving in Japan is very complicated and ceremonious. Christmas candy sells quickly. In stores there are also advent calendars. They haven't quite caught on in Japan. I love my advent calendar from home, it's better than anything I can get here!
The Christmas music played in stores tends to be the modern, non traditional type of music. This is all well and good, but I may have a conniption if I hear Mariah Carey one more time... *shudder* talk about overplaying a song. One thing I like about Starbucks here is that they play the whole nutcracker suite by Tchaikovsky. It's beautiful. No Mariah Carey in Starbucks.
Speaking of Starbucks, there are no eggnog lattes!! It's terrible. There is no eggnog to speak of, anywhere. It's unappreciated and unknown here. The Christmas drinks are slightly different and the baked goods are more decadent in Japan at Starbucks. One drink they have here is the nutty praline latte. It sounds yummy!
The other day I was at my local mall and I was happy to discover Santa Claus was paying Kasukabe a visit. I lined up to get a picture with him, but I needed some sort of special card. I gave up without a fight. I was just tickled to see Santa Claus.
And there you have it, a little bit about Christmas in Japan. It's worth noting that the Japanese don't seem to know the original eight reindeer, mistletoe or some times the real reason for Christmas. Christmas Eve is considered more of a romantic holiday. Hotels are always booked up in the Christmas season by couples celebrating Christmas. Traditionally, the couple goes out for a fancy dinner, with champagne, the man gives the woman an expensive gift, usually jewelry, and then the night is spent in a hotel. For families with children, Santa Claus visits and leaves a present for the child(ren).
As my students would say: finish! The end.
