A Word About Christmas in Japan

Strawberry Sponge Cream Cake?

KFC Chicken Dinners?

A Romantic Night Out?

Christmas in Japan is not what you would think.

Growing up in America I believe my Christmas was probably like any other.  On Thanksgiving Day we would watch the Macy's Day Parade which always ended with Santa Claus and immediately following on the TV would play "It's a Wonderful Life" or "Miracle on 34th Street".  The next day the tree would go up.  Advent calendars with little pieces of Chocolate behind each door was a favorite of mine.  And then there was the 'I CAN'T SLEEP' excitement of the 24th as you strained to hear the bells from Santa's sleigh.  When you woke up it was to piles, large or small, under the tree and in your stocking, and Christmas Dinner would start to be baked shortly after breakfast.  We'd have Turkey stuffed with homemade stuffing, corn, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and for dessert a slice of Pumkin Pie with a scoop of ice cream or whipped cream.

But in Japan none of these traditions exist.  Christmas is not a National Holiday (or even a religious holiday for most as only 1% of Japanese are Christian) so people work and go to school on the 24th and 25th like any other day. (Although the present Emperor's Birthday is the 23rd and that is a National Holiday). 

Christmas is viewed as a romantic holiday, and it is very important to have a significant other to spend the evening with.  To the extent that one restaurant recently banned couples from the establishment on Christmas Eve with the claim that it would upset single patrons and some people react to the holiday in the same way a single Westerner responds to Valentine's Day.  Great importance is placed on where you go and what you do on Christmas Eve and what gift is given.  A normal evening would include dressing very nicely, going out to a special dinner at an expensive restaurant and then walking the streets to view the extravagant light displays.  (Book early, several months early, depending on the restaurant.)

Gifts are only exchanged between dating couples and perhaps given to small children still young enough to believe in Santa - because in Japan gifts come only from Santa. Adults don't receive gifts at Christmas time.  All the usual trappings of the season that you find at an American store are there - decorations, Christmas trees and holiday music (they go up in November but disappear on the 25th to make way for the New Year's Decorations - which is a much bigger set of days that are celebrated there.), and the stores spend just as many advertising dollars as their American counterparts convincing you what you should buy and where. 

A delicious white sponge cake of whipped cream and strawberries with a holiday centerpiece, known in Japan as Christmas Cake, is the treat of choice after dinner.  Some trace it's origins to a cake served on birthdays as early as 1910, others to Post WWII. A terrible old pun in Japan refers to a woman over 25 and unmarried as "Christmas Cake", being they lose their value after December 25th.  This is falling out of favor though as the marrying age is now often much older.

Turkey is virtually unknown in Japan, so for those not going out to eat perhaps they will have chicken for dinner.  They will have to order well in advance for the special Kentucky Fried Chicken Dinner served each holiday (which now-a-days comes with Chicken, cake and champagne), especially if they want the premium menu, they sell out a month in advance.  This tradition can be traced back to the highly successful "Kentucky for Christmas" campaign of 1974, which was said to be inspired by a group of foreigners who couldn't find turkey while in Japan and settled for KFC for their holiday dinner...  In fact most Japanese think Americans celebrate Christmas eating chicken, not turkey, and as many as 1 in 3 adults in Japan will have KFC for Christmas.

So while Christmas in Japan is still amazing and beautiful with its extravagant light displays and the stores all decked out for the season, it is a distinctly different holiday from the one we celebrate in the western half of the world.  And another example of how this ever changing country takes in influences from other countries and makes them uniquely there own.

Have a Great Christmas

Peace, love and a joyful day

Loved ones and presents

Have a Very Merry Christmas Everyone!!

Shipping and Handling

So, I've heard some people complaining about the fact that if they buy a small item from someone online, let's say like one of my charms -

- for around $7.00, that the shipping should be free or only $1.00 or so.  That $4 is outrageous since it's nearly half or more the price of the item they are buying. 

That may work for the big box stores who make millions of dollars in sales a year, but it doesn't work for an independent artist.

Let's break down the cost of shipping & handling.

First there is the envelope:

I like the bubble envelopes.  These come 6 to a pack for around $3.69 + 0.9% tax = $4.02 at Target.  Or $0.67 a piece.

Second there is the actual "Handling" part that many people forget. I put the item in the envelope with it's receipt or extras and then actually go to the post office.  Yes you are being charged for my time and gas in my car to get to the post office.

Third is the shipping. I like to ship all of my items first class with tracking - I added the tracking as a normal addition after a bad situation with an impatient customer who thought 4 days was too long to wait for her package and contacted me twice a day asking where it was.  Well without tracking I had no idea where it was. (Fortunately it did arrive on the 5th day.)

A package this size with only one or two light items in it costs around $2.95 for shipping first class with tracking.

$2.95 + $0.67 = $3.62 - which means I'm only charging you $0.38 for the handling part - quite a bargain! - when I charge you $4.00 for shipping and handling.

So please keep all these costs in mind when you are placing your order and are faced with the S&H charges.