On the surface Christmas time in Japan is the same as that in any Western country. There are Christmas trees in shopping centres and office lobbies. Bright shining lights decorate streets and public areas. Christmas songs blast at you from speakers in shops. Retailers fill their shelves with assorted gifts and many people max out their credit cards in the search for that illusive gift for a special someone.

 

There are differences. It is very rare to find any reference to the Christian base of the festival. Christmas in Japan is almost a fully secular celebration. Japanese teenagers may know all the English lyrics to Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas (is you)" but if you try and start a rousing rendition of "Oh Little Town of Bethlehem", you'll be met with blank stares.

 

Whereas in the UK Christmas is a time for family, in Japan it is a time for friends, or more importantly a significant other. University students often stay at their halls of residence for Christmas Day to exchange presents and party with their friends. I went to a delightful "nabe" party on Christmas Eve two years ago with a group of students. Nabe is a communal winter dish where a large bowl of boiling soup is placed on a hot plate in the centre of the table and meats, vegetables, tofu, noodles and so on are placed in, removed and eaten by the diners as they wish. Christmas Day is not a national holiday, even though the schools are on holiday the shops remain open. In the evening cinemas are often packed with loved up couples. Most disheartening for a western visitor is that most shops aim to take down their Christmas decorations before the start of trading on the 25th! It seems the build up and consumerism is all that matters, not the celebration of the actual day.

 

The time for family celebration in Japan is New Year. This is celebrated in accordance with the western calendar on the 1st of January, not in line with the Chinese New Year. Families spend this time together. There are national holidays, with even ATMs being closed for two or three days. There is no tradition of a midnight countdown in Japan, in fact many Japanese get an early night because an important part of the celebration is rising early on the morning of the 1st to watch and welcome the first dawn of the New Year. Families may climb mountains or go to a nearby beach for a good view. There are special foods to eat (called osechi) and traditions to follow. It is customary for families to visit a Shinto shrine to pray for prosperity for the year ahead. Traditionalists may even make a mini pilgrimage to three separate shrines. There's also the interesting tradition of "New Years' Shopping". There is a belief in Japan that the first thing you buy in the New Year influences the course of you entire year, so naturally there is a rush to buy auspicious items. Japanese children look forward to the arrival of otoshidama- money envelopes from all their older relatives. Having many children, nieces, nephews and grandchildren is an expensive business in Japanese New Year as some children expect gifts of 10,000yen!

 

It can be a lonely business celebrating Christmas and New Year as a westerner in Japan. But I have many happy memories. One that I want to share with you happened last year. A student had come to my English class after going to see her nephew in his school Christmas show. There are some church run schools in Japan and her nephew was attending one of them. She told me with great joy the nativity story that I have heard millions of times before but that she had only heard for the first time that afternoon. She talked of angel messages, wise men following a star, shepherds coming down from the hills and, of course, of the baby lying in a manger. She finished with a wide smile to the rest of the class and to me, saying "Isn't it a wonderful story?!" I could do nothing but agree with her. It is so easy to become blasé about the stories and traditions we have heard and followed for our entire lives, I think it is so important to learn about the stories and traditions of other cultures so that we can look again at our own with fresh eyes.