We Had Japanese Christmas This Year

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We don’t celebrate Christmas in Japan since we are not a Christian country, and it isn’t a holiday. This year, however, it happened to be on the weekend, and many people could stay at home.

In our family, Christmas is a little more special than in a regular family.

First, we have a kid. Families with children usually have a Christmas tree and some other decorations, although not as many as that of a Christian country. We have a Christmas cake, and the children receive presents. Christmas is very much kid-oriented. Yet, most people don’t know the meaning of Christmas, and it isn’t religious at all. It is just a cultural event.

Second, I know a little about Christmas since I was brought up to be a Christian for the first five years of my life, and I have experienced Christmas in Christian countries. So we usually do something more Christmassy than a regular Japanese Family. We sing Christmas carols and listen to the audio story of A Christmas Carol.

Third, we have Christmas pudding. No Japanese family has Christmas pudding. German Stollen is getting popular in Japan, but most people have never heard of Christmas pudding.

I made it myself. I have been making one every year since 2019.

Making Christmas Pudding for the First Time

Christmas Pudding vs. Stollen

We had a regular Christmas cake, too. The mother-in-law brought it to us. This kind of cake is sold a lot, which is the type of Christmas cake eaten in most families.

And we have a wood-burning stove which makes us feel more Christmassy.

However, it was a Japanese Christmas this year. We didn’t sing Christmas carols and listen to A Christmas Carol.

We just watched an anime series called Case Closed on Amazon prime. My son loves this story, and he got me to watch it, and now I am hooked on it, too.  We spent the entire weekend watching it.

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