It's the most wonderful time of the year -- well, at least for those who celebrate Christmas. Either way, 'tis the season for gift-giving, merry-making, family, friends and an overall jovial nature that only Christmas can bring. For a predominantly Christian nation like America or the Western world as a whole, this makes sense. But why would a country like Japan, where only about one percent of the population identifies as Christian, bother to celebrate Christmas at all?
Historically, Japan has had little to do with Christmas and has a plethora of other unique holidays to the island nation. Christmas in Japan was a product of the allied occupation of Japan after World War II when Christian missionaries introduced the holiday to Japanese schools and families. The occupied Japanese ditched the aspect of Christianity (for the most part) but kept the gift-giving and merry-making that is ubiquitous around the holiday, and a craze was born. Christmas in Japan was taken as more of a means to show the nation's commercial success, and it remains a secular holiday in the country. In an attempt to flex its capitalistic chops, Christmas in Japan bursts onto the scene every year with some uniquely Japanese traditions that have blended themselves into the holiday.
Some of the uniquely Japanese things during Christmas time in Japan are richly decorated white cakes and romantic couples taking photos in front of giant Christmas trees. In fact, Christmas in Japan is an even bigger romantic holiday than Valentine's Day. However, one of the stranger modern traditions in Japan during Christmas time is huge feasts of fried chicken, particularly KFC. That's right -- in Japan, Col. Sanders is just as much a Christmas mascot as Santas Claus.
With Christmas holding such importance in Japan, it's no surprise that anime capitalizes on the holiday. Just about every major anime series has a Christmas special. '90s kids fondly remember the Pokémon Christmas episode where Ash and his friends meet Santa. How about Cardcaptor Sakura with the episode "Sakura's Wonderful Christmas?" Even Digimon had a Christmas special called "A Very Digi-Christmas." Although no mention of baby Jesus in the manger with the Three-Wise-Men is ever mentioned in any of these episodes, this allowed for an easy cross-cultural exchange when these anime series were brought to kids in English-speaking countries.
Entire anime films have been created around the holiday season, such as the wonderful Tokyo Godfathers, which admittedly does lean more into some of the religious themes of Christmas, which is uncommon for any Christmas anime. While Western audiences might feel oddly about the theological aspects of Christmas that are missing in most anime about the holiday, one thing is clear: the spirit of Christmas is alive and well in not only anime but Japan as a whole.
Just like any anime where Christmas is the focus, some moral lesson is passed on with all of the joy and kindness that comes with the holiday. And at the end of the day, whether people speak the same language or come from the same culture, the power of Christmas cannot be denied. So this holiday season, watch a few Christmas anime and get into the spirit.
