cel-
ebrated
more than
Christmas Day. Christ-
mas Eve is thought of as a
romantic day, in which couples spend
together and exchange presents. In
many ways it resembles Valentine’s
Day celebrations in the UK and the
USA. Young couples like to go for
walks to look at the Christmas lights
and have a romantic meal in a restau-
rant - booking a table on Christmas
Eve can be very difficult as it’s so
popular!
Christmas is not a national holi-
day in Japan, so schools and
businesses are normally open
on December 25th.
In Japanese Happy/Merry
Christmas is ‘Meri Kuri-
sumasu’.
Parties are often held
for children, with
games and
dancing. Japa-
nese Christ-
mas Cake is a
sponge cake
decorated
with trees,
flowers
and a
figure of
Santa
Claus.
In
Ja-
pan
Santa is
known
as
santa-
san
(Mr
Santa).
An-
other
Japa-
nese gift
bringer is
Hoteiosho,
a Japanese god of good fortune
from Buddhism and not really re-
lated to Christmas.
Fried chicken is often eaten
on Christmas day. It is the
busiest time of year for res-
taurants such as KFC and
people can place orders at
their local fast food restaurant
in advance!
The traditional Japanese Christmas
food is Christmas cake, but it’s not a
rich fruit cake, but is usually a sponge
cake decorated with strawberries and
whipped cream.
The Japanese New Year (called ‘o
shogatsu’) is more like a traditional
Western Christ-
mas. New Year
is the pe-
riod where
families get
together,
have a
spe-
cial
meal,
pray
and
send
greet-
ings
cards.
New Year
is celebrated over
five days from De-
cember 31st to Janu-
ary 4th and is a very busy
time.
Christmas in Poland
In Poland, Advent is the beginning
of Christmas Time. It’s a time when
people try to be peaceful and remem-
ber the