Meri-Krismasu

Hi all- (Your Japanese Lesson for the Day: "Snow"in Kanji)

Thailand for me is a little over 20 days away. SO, I only have 3 weeks -3 WEEKS- of JHS teaching for this year....Sagoi!!! I can't wait! :) I'm leaving for Thailand on December 21st and coming back January 7th.

But until then...I have lots to do. I'm in the process of putting together some Christmas lessons for school (I'll hopefully have pics to show soon) and downloading Christmas songs/movies to keep me in the holiday spirit. I bought a Fiber-optic tree the other day for my apartment and some holly/berry tinsel to decorate the place. I even have a "Merry Christmas" wreath hanging on the front door - so I'm good to go!

You might think in a country that's 99% non-Christian that Christmas would just blow on by and you'd never even realize it. But once again, you'd be completely wrong. Japanese department stores have decked-out trees as colorful as anything in the west, and many streets have colorful displays and wreathes all lined up for blocks. Still, it's time to set the record straight -- it's most certainly NOT as some dewey-eyed western writers put it "one day out of the year when all Japanese become Christians". Christmas in Japan has nothing to do with religion at all. Then why is it popular? For one, exchanging gifts is a well recognized cultural trait and Xmas fits in nicely here. For another, the lights and glitter are pretty. But behind that you'll find very little else. In fact, when it comes to celebration, think Valentine's Day. Christmas in Japan is more than anything a time to take an important date out to dinner, and for some even to book an expensive hotel room for the night.
Do you keep passing along to one of your "friends" those fossilized 15 year-old cakes in the mail every year? Well, they eat those "Christmas Cakes" in Japan. But there is no big Xmas feast. Turkey is nowhere to be found, unless you want to pay a fortune to a mail-order company or one of the few department stores that carry them. Not much you could do even if you did have one, since for nearly all Japanese the only oven they have is a microwave or a toaster. So given a choice of a turkey sandwich at Subway's in Tokyo or Osaka, many Japanese go to Kentucky Fried Chicken, where there are always some special Christmas chicken dishes. Expect to see a very long line into every KFC on Christmas Eve. Almost no Japanese have any Christmas trees either; their homes being cramped enough as it is.
December 25th is still a work day in Japan. There are quite a few parties though. Tis the season for the "Bo-nenkai", or "Forget the Year Party", where many Japanese drink and forget the year's problems (and more than a few drink enough to forget more than that). There is also writing Nenga-jo or New Year's Cards for Jan. 1st. And a few give chocolates or small gifts to boyfriends and such, however hark the herald angels sing won't be something you'll be feeling here. But if you like drinking a few glasses of Christmas cheer, Japan is certainly the place to be. The beer companies are extremely thankful for Christmas.

No snow yet in the City to report, I'm afraid I won't see any until I come back from beautiful hot Thailand - which should be quite a fun shock. The temp. in Niigata-shi this week- Highs 45°F Lows 36°F It's funny, but I'm slowly adapting to the coldness here...doesn't mean I like it though!!!

A fun Japanese Christmas song to listen to : Namie Amuro - White Light.torrent Enjoy it!!! :)