Christmas in Japan
is more of a commercial occasion than a religious event. As the Japanese people are followers of Shinto and Buddhism, the religious appeal ofChristmas in Japan
is absent.With the development of information and technology the popularity of Christmas is increasing day by day.
Giving gifts to small children on the Christmas Eve or on the Christmas day in Japan is a very common practice. The traditional Christmas decorations like lights on the houses and well ornamented Christmas tree have become a part of the Japanese culture.
It doesn't matter how much Christianity or Christmas is unimportant to the Japanese culture, the celebration and fun involved with it has been accepted whole heartedly. All traditional features of Christmas from Christmas carols to Santa Claus are present in the big malls and market complexes. There is a strong romance involved in the Christmas celebration of Japan .
It is a common custom for all the single women of Japan to have a partner on the Christmas Eve and the evening together with a partner is supposed to be very romantic and sensuous encounter. The romance is so much hyped by media that Christmas has almost evolved as a second Valentine's Day in Japan.
The two most unusual Christmas customs are Beethoven's Ninth Symphony and the Christmas cake. The Beethoven's Ninth Symphony is also known as Daiku or the 'Great Nine'. The Japanese bakeries makes it a point to sale all the cakes the day before Christmas. The Christmas celebrations in Japan mostly coincide with the New Years celebration and separate importance is not given.
There is no practice of live Christmas trees, the tress which are sold are mostly made of plastic. Most of the institutions are not closed on the Christmas day and no national holiday is declared. Hotels and restaurants mostly serving western food make huge business during this period and reservations are done before hand to avoid rush.
