It should be no surprise that Christmas isn't a national holiday in Japan. That means that I will be going into the office on Christmas! I probably won't do much. I just have to show up. The kids have two weeks off for winter break, starting on the 23rd.
From what people have told me, I've gathered that some people in Japan give their kids Christmas presents. But it sounds like they only do it when they are younger and that the presents are silly. I've seen about two houses with Christmas decorations outside. Almost all stores have been playing Christmas music since the end of November. Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas is You" is played just about every other song. Everybody has said that they eat Christmas cake on Christmas. I think that's funny because that's about the ONLY dessert that my family DOESN'T eat at Christmas time. But if you think about it, maybe we should.... after all, we are celebrating a birthday. They told me Christmas cake is just like birthday cake but with different decorations. Christmas Eve or Christmas night is a date night for most Japanese couples. Japanese families all gather together (the way we do for Christmas) for New Years, not Christmas. During New Years they go to a temple and pray.
When I explained some of the Christmas traditions in the US (caroling, cards, decorating the tree, santa, etc), the kids were most surprised by the tradition of leaving cookies, milk, and carrots out on Christmas Eve. They thought it was really funny. That and sending Santa a wishlist.
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