People often ask “do Japanese people celebrate Christmas?” given their over-the-top decorations, but just how genuine is their Xmas spirit?
The Japanese are lovers of festivities, and the longer you live here, the more you’ll see how true that is. From elementary school to adult life and beyond, festivals and celebratory events are a huge part of Japanese culture and tradition. While some celebrations are purely cultural in nature and exclusive to the Japanese, such as Obon and Gion Matsuri, other festivities celebrate milestones in life just as we do in the West, such as graduations and New Year’s.
As such, there exist in Japan the exclusive national festivals as well as the globally celebrated events that are uninfluenced by a country’s cultural, religious, or political stance. However, Christmas is that one event that is hard to categorize. Is it a globally celebrated event? Or simply a Christian holiday that is only truly recognized in the West?
Well, it’s no secret that Japan is totally devoid of any links to Abrahamic religions, its religious roots steeped in Shintoism and Buddhism. That being said, the ambiguity and perhaps fading identity of Christmas as a Christian-rooted celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ has led to global commercialization of the event, with many countries adopting the aesthetic while rejecting its religious basis as truth.
Japan is perhaps the best example of a non-Christian country that celebrates Christmas for all its commercialized festivities, but whose national religion and identity could not be more misaligned with the core beliefs of Christianity.
The Christmas Aesthetic
Japanese people have a love for all things cute and all things aesthetically pleasing. The world-recognized aesthetic of Christmas decorations has no doubt captured the adoration of the Japanese, and they make every effort to embody that aesthetic in their own cities during the Christmas season. It’s a similar phenomenon to how the Japanese adopted Snoopy into their culture, an originally American comic character, simply for its cute appearance that falls in line with the Japanese aesthetic of their own national kawaii icons, such as Hello Kitty and Doraemon.
A Love for Christmas Trees
Whether manufactured artificially or home grown, the Japanese love putting up Christmas trees at this time of year.
Many admirers of the Christmas tree likely don’t know of its significance as a symbol of Jesus Christ’s eternal life (truly, I didn’t even know until I wrote this article!).
Interestingly, despite the lack of Christian identity in global instances of Christmas celebrations, it has still become a season of happiness and joy as family and friends come together in the spirit of love and unity, and that, for one, is a biblically accurate portrayal of this time of year.
It’s the season to be jolly, as they say, for Christmas is seen by Christians as a time in which God’s presence is felt among humanity.
When Jesus was born, it was believed that the angels smiled down upon him, describing the miracle as “good news of great joy for all people.”
The vast majority of Japanese people might not believe in Jesus Christ or the Abrahamic events of the bible, but they are among the biggest believers in the joyous effects of Christmas!
Where it Snows, it Glows!
The Christmas spirit runs strong in Japan, at the very least at a commercial level. Due to the prioritization of Christmas as an aesthetic, more so than a true celebration of its cultural significance, you’ll often find bright Christmas lights and decorations wherever there is snow in Japan.
Perhaps the prefecture that embraces Xmas more than any other in Japan is Hokkaido, in particular the capital city Sapporo. When you consider the fact that there are no public holidays in Japan during this time of year as there are in the West, you realize the reality that the country doesn’t truly embrace Christmas as a nationally recognized event deserving of time away from work.
So, Do Japanese People Actually Celebrate Xmas?
The best way I could answer this question is as follows: Japanese people don’t celebrate Christmas for its cultural or religious significance and typically don’t take part in traditions of gift-giving or eggnog, but they celebrate the festivities of Christmas, embracing its overarching theme of family and togetherness, displaying mistletoe, reindeer, and Santa Claus decorations.
Of course, it’s a little more challenging for the Japanese to get family time during the jolly season, for work is business as usual, but the spirit of togetherness, even between colleagues, can still be felt. Having worked in a Japanese company at this time, I did observe a more lighthearted and friendly vibe in the workplace. Some companies schedule events like Christmas parties on a Friday evening or weekend to celebrate the season, but you certainly won’t see the entire country of Japan shutting down and resting like you would in the UK or Australia!
To learn more about life in Japan, check out my book: The Japanese Pursuit of Perfection. This book features my most profound observations of Japanese culture and society as a foreign resident. Available in e-book, paperback, and hardcover. Grab your copy today!