And so it begins - Santa Sighted in September

There is a story, potentially an urban myth but certainly worth repeating, of a slight cultural misunderstanding that happened one Christmas back in the 1980's. The alleged incident occurred at the now defunct Sogo department store in Yurakucho, downtown Tokyo. Deciding to adopt the festive spirit, they created a display of traditional Christmas characters with the centre piece being Santa, firmly nailed to the cross. Points for trying I suppose.

This being early September, the next holiday event will be Silver Week in the third week of the month when two national holidays fall a single day apart and, as a result, the intervening day is also given, by law, as a holiday. After that it is Halloween, which in recent years has been adopted with gusto by the student youth of Japan. Head down to Shibuya crossing if you can. Quite a sight if you happen to be in Tokyo at that time of year.

The one thing though that is not supposed to be seen in September, is Santa and his sleigh. And on 2nd September, The Mandarin Oriental set a new record for the earliest known introduction of what can only be described as a very sheepish looking Father Christmas, clearly still working on building up his winter body-fat reserves for the feverish night's work to come. Just hope the reindeer don't get too jealous of Olaf, or Santa is in for a rough ride. Uhh, Happy Christmas! I think.

Jesus in Japan and other Christmas stories

Japan, on the whole, doesn't celebrate Christmas that much but there are some interesting stories around the day. In the 1980's the Sogo department store in Yurakucho is reputed to have nailed Santa to the cross but this may have been an urban myth. Good one though. I've blogged before about the buckets of Kentucky Fried Chicken wings and watched yesterday as the first early customers started to collect their orders, though they appeared more from obligation than want.

Recently a news article highlighted the stories from Japanese married to foreigners and how Christmas was such a stressful time. They lamented about the difficulties of choosing presents (remember, it's the thought that counts) and having to eat turkey (seriously, don't eat it if you don't like it). But for most people the actual day is a little bit of a non-event; a normal working day just like any other. New Year is the real family day in Japan.

There is one story though of a garlic farmer who came from the east and through Alaska two thousand years ago. He settled in the village of Shingo in Aomori, northern Japan, married and had three children. His name in Japanese became Daitenku Taro Jurai and he finally passed at the ripe old age of 106. In English we know him better as Jesus Christ and you can visit the shrine to his passing currently located in the grounds of a local factory. The story of how he escaped the Romans though, well that has been lost with the passage of time. Happy Christmas wherever you may be and whatever you may believe.

When you're away from home - The best Christmas song ever

Tokyo went into full, four wheel drive Christmas mode on 1 November, the moment Halloween was done and dusted and the Batman costumes were put away for another year. The decorations went up and the hotels started competing in the "who has the tallest tree in the lobby" competition. Couples  began booking their Xmas Eve date (you're no-one in Japan if you don't have a date on Xmas Eve) and Kentucky Fried Chicken have started taking orders for the annual rush for buckets of wings because "Christmas isn't Christmas without Kentucky Fried Chicken". 

And the carols and Christmas songs have been playing continuously for over six weeks now. For me though, not being particularly religious (well, actually not at all) Christmas is still the most important celebration in the year. It's the family time; we Skype my parents to open the presents at 6.00 in the morning and then Skype them again so they can join in the turkey dinner later in the day. And for me there is one song that truly captures that feeling of togetherness and the loneliness it can bring with it when you're a Christmas orphan. Half way around the world is a long way but Christmas is the time you remember each other. Even when you can't be there.

Tim Minchin - White Wine in the Sun

Merry Christmas with chicken wings

In Japan, some TV campaigns are just rubbish. However some go down in legend. For example Tokyo Gas once ran a campaign with the tag line "My life, My gas". Probably should have had that one run by a native speaker first but at least it has gone down in legend.

Kentucky Fried Chicken managed something else though. In the 1980s they ran an Xmas campaign in Japan under the banner "Christmas isn't Christmas without Kentucky Fried Chicken". People took this seriously and it has actually managed to enter modern day popular culture. Tonight, on Christmas  eve, people will queue up to collect their bucket of pre-ordered KFC's finest and later sit down to enjoy their family evening. And they'll be happy. Merry Christmas wherever you may be and whether or not you have chicken wings.

Xmas Party Pack - Order before 30 November!

Turkey vs Wild Pig

First turkey of the year is about to go on the BBQ. With the lid on it acts like an oven and over 6 ~ 7 hours will cook the 18lb bird we ordered. The difficulty in Japan is actually procuring the turkey in the first place. These days it's relatively straight forward in Tokyo but once outside the city it becomes near impossible.

I was once in a store about two hours into the mountains and asked if I could order an 8kg (18lb) one and listened as everyone behind the counter discussed what I was looking for and came to the conclusion I'd got it wrong and really wanted an 800gm (2lb) bird. It took about half an hour to convince everyone I knew what I was looking for and only then did they say they didn't have one.

There is an alternative though if you're open to different approaches to Thanksgiving or Christmas. Wild boar (inoshishi) is available at this time of year and can be cooked over the fire for several hours to bring around that family feeling. Wild boar though is a little tough to eat and so Japan has solved the problem by breeding inobutta - wild pig. Delicious and available in the mountains where the turkeys don't roam.