{"id":7082,"date":"2021-12-20T19:33:34","date_gmt":"2021-12-20T19:33:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/?p=7082"},"modified":"2021-12-20T19:33:34","modified_gmt":"2021-12-20T19:33:34","slug":"christmas-in-japan-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/christmas-in-japan-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Christmas in Japan"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I know I should write something about New Year in Japan. But I wrote about \u5e74\u8cc0\u72b6, \u9664\u591c\u306e\u9418 ,\u798f\u888band\u304a\u7bc0\u00a0 present and past last year. So I am going to focus on Christmas in Japan.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/new-years-cards-%E5%B9%B4%E8%B3%80%E7%8A%B6\/\">https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/new-years-cards-\u5e74\u8cc0\u72b6\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/a-month-even-a-priest-must-run-part-1\/\">https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/a-month-even-a-priest-must-run-part-1\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/a-month-even-a-priest-must-run-part-%EF%BC%92\/\">https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/a-month-even-a-priest-must-run-part-\uff12\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p>For a non-Christian country, Christmas is a huge event even though it is not a holiday (\u796d\u65e5saijitsu) in Japan. Shopping streets are decorated with illuminations starting at the beginning of November.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"?? 4K 2021 Tokyo Christmas Illumination Lights \u6771\u4eac\u30af\u30ea\u30b9\u30de\u30b9\u30a4\u30eb\u30df\u30cd\u30fc\u30b7\u30e7\u30f3\uff18\u9078 \u4e38\u306e\u5185 \u516d\u672c\u6728\u30d2\u30eb\u30ba \u539f\u5bbf \u30df\u30c3\u30c9\u30bf\u30a6\u30f3\u304a\u53f0\u5834 \u591c\u666f night \u89b3\u5149\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Ax0VbJLOoZw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The Christmas season starts early in Japan. Christmas markets are open and get so many visitors. On Christmas Eve, many have dinner at a fancy restaurant, or at home with a Christmas cake. And there is something that you must have at home Christmas dinner or parties. Of course, it is Kentucky Fried Chicken! You must reserve (\u4e88\u7d04\u3059\u308b yoyakusuru) your dinner by 12\/17 and designate a day and time to pick it up. Not only the fried chickens, KFC offers a whole roasted chicken, a roasted thigh, and roasted breast meat along with the side dishes such as French fries, biscuits, and nuggets. Forget such traditional Christmas side dishes as mashed potatoes, stuffing, sweet potato casserole, and green beans!\u00a0 It seems it is very competitive to make the reservation online, and many people post their frustration on Twitter that they cannot make reservations, and that the Christmas package sold out (\u58f2\u308a\u5207\u308c\u308b urikireru).<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=EZhxw4lWSTE\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=EZhxw4lWSTE<\/a><\/p>\n<p>When you go down to the basement of department stores, affectionately called \u30c7\u30d1\u5730\u4e0b(depachika), there are so many gourmet stores with ready-made food. And you may have tasty roasted chickens in your local stores as well. Why do you have to have KFC?\u00a0 I believe it is a triumph (\u52dd\u5229 shouri) of KFC Japan\u2019s marketing.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"\u677e\u4efb\u8c37\u7531\u5b9f -\u604b\u4eba\u304c\u30b5\u30f3\u30bf\u30af\u30ed\u30fc\u30b9 (from\u300c\u65e5\u672c\u306e\u604b\u3068\u3001\u30e6\u30fc\u30df\u30f3\u3068\u3002\u300d)\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/MyZjG4SYios?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>I wanted to share just a snippet of the most famous J-Pop Christmas songs released in 1980.\u00a0 According to Takashi Odajima, a columnist, this song transformed Christmas in Japan from a children\u2019s event to the most important and romantic event for lovers (\u604b\u4eba koibito).<\/p>\n<p>Unlike the US and many countries that celebrate Christmas, Christmas Eve is considered more important than Christmas Day itself. It is more \u201cromantic.\u201d Not much going on Christmas Day as it is just a regular working day. After 12\/24, many Christmas items are sold at a deep discount (\u5272\u5f15 waribiki).\u00a0 There was really a bad joke going on back in the 90s in Japan, referring to a 25-year old woman as \u201cChristmas cake.\u201d Fortunately, many young people have no idea what this joke means as even the Japanese society has progressed (\u9032\u6b69\u3059\u308b shinposuru) and women are not in any hurry to get married or even not get married at all.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_7084\" style=\"width: 360px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright post-item__attachment\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7084\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-7084\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/12\/ginza-65709_1920-350x232.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"350\" height=\"232\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/12\/ginza-65709_1920-350x232.jpg 350w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/12\/ginza-65709_1920-1024x678.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/12\/ginza-65709_1920-768x509.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/12\/ginza-65709_1920-1536x1018.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/12\/ginza-65709_1920.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-7084\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/pixabay.com\/ja\/users\/13147-13147\/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=65709\">k m<\/a>\u306b\u3088\u308b<a href=\"https:\/\/pixabay.com\/ja\/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=65709\">Pixabay<\/a>\u304b\u3089\u306e\u753b\u50cf<\/p><\/div>\n<p>After Christmas Eve, the whole country shifts a focus on New Year. The Japanese government instituted the New Year holidays to be 12\/29 to 1\/3 in 1988.\u00a0 So, for many companies, the last day of business is on 12\/28 . It is called Shigoto Osame (\u4ed5\u4e8b\u7d0d\u3081) or Goyo Osame (\u5fa1\u7528\u7d0d\u3081). And the first day of business in the new year is called Shigoto Hajime (\u4ed5\u4e8b\u59cb\u3081) or Goyo Hajime (\u5fa1\u7528\u59cb\u3081), and it is 1\/4 in 2022. \u00a0Although there is not a definition, the middle of December to the last day of December is called \u5e74\u672b (nenmatsu) and January 1 to 3<sup>rd<\/sup> is called \u5e74\u59cb (nenshi). The term used so often, \u5e74\u672b\u5e74\u59cb (nenmatsu nenshi) loosely refers to this period.<\/p>\n<p>Some people take a day or two vacation days to make this a longer break to go Hawaii, the number one destination for the New Year holiday. Before people started going abroad for the \u5e74\u672b\u5e74\u59cbbreak, they used to go back to their home town (\u6545\u90f7 kokyo). And those of us who called Tokyo as the home town could enjoy the less-crowded city. Due to COVID-19, however, international travel is still very restricted. JTB, one of the major travel agencies in Japan, forecasts (\u4e88\u6e2c\u3059\u308b yosokusuru) that the number of domestic travelers for \u5e74\u672b\u5e74\u59cbin 2021-2022 will increase 180% to 18 million from the comparative period of 2020-2021. In \u5e74\u672b\u5e74\u59cbin 2019-2020 (prior to the COVID-19,) it was 29 million. In October, the State of Emergency was lifted, and it was hoped that the number of domestic travelers would increase drastically during \u5e74\u672b\u5e74\u59cb. However, the Omicron strain seems to have dampened that hope. Approximately 75% of companies have reported that they would not hold \u5fd8\u5e74\u4f1a (bonenkai, literally forget the year party). I am sure that many employees are happy about that as \u5fd8\u5e74\u4f1a are regarded as an obligation. At the same time, 75% of parents also responded that they would spend Christmas at home with a cake and chicken.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"\u30107\u5272\u304c\u300c\u81ea\u5b85\u3067\u300d\u3068\u56de\u7b54\u3011\u30af\u30ea\u30b9\u30de\u30b9\u3069\u3046\u904e\u3054\u3059\uff1f\u4eca\u5e74\u306e\u30c8\u30ec\u30f3\u30c9\u306f\u2026\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/2LQZLW3nEnM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Whatever holidays you celebrate, happy holidays to you. My 2021 was unexpectedly a bad year as I lost my canine hiking and life partner suddenly and unexpectedly.\u00a0 May 2022 bring you a lot of happiness. \u00a0Enjoy every trail.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<img width=\"350\" height=\"232\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/12\/ginza-65709_1920-350x232.jpg\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/12\/ginza-65709_1920-350x232.jpg 350w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/12\/ginza-65709_1920-1024x678.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/12\/ginza-65709_1920-768x509.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/12\/ginza-65709_1920-1536x1018.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/12\/ginza-65709_1920.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><p>I know I should write something about New Year in Japan. But I wrote about \u5e74\u8cc0\u72b6, \u9664\u591c\u306e\u9418 ,\u798f\u888band\u304a\u7bc0\u00a0 present and past last year. So I am going to focus on Christmas in Japan. https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/new-years-cards-\u5e74\u8cc0\u72b6\/ https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/a-month-even-a-priest-must-run-part-1\/ https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/a-month-even-a-priest-must-run-part-\uff12\/ For a non-Christian country, Christmas is a huge event even though it is not a holiday (\u796d\u65e5saijitsu) in Japan&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"post-item__readmore\"><a class=\"btn btn--md\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/christmas-in-japan-2\/\">Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":173,"featured_media":7084,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3,7,913],"tags":[550942,2702,550941,550940,1166],"class_list":["post-7082","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-holidays","category-traditions","tag-christmas-illumination","tag-christmas-in-japan","tag-kentucky-fried-chicken","tag-kfc","tag-new-year"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7082","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/173"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7082"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7082\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7086,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7082\/revisions\/7086"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7084"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7082"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}