Hello everyone!
This podcast is for people learning Japanese.
Uh, it’s been a while, hasn’t it?
Or maybe I should say, this might be our first time meeting.

Halloween is over, and the next event is Christmas.
Today is December 6th.
Do you celebrate Christmas in your country?
Does your family celebrate Christmas?

In Japan, Christmas isn’t a religious event.
It’s a day for everyone to enjoy.
Recently, I think it might be the same in other countries too.
Even people who aren’t Christian may enjoy it as an event.
Also, for Jewish people, there’s Hanukkah too, right?

What do you do for Christmas?
Do you do nothing at all?
When I was a child, we decorated a Christmas tree and eagerly waited for Santa Claus.
We also ate Christmas cake every year.

In my family, my birthday is in December, and my older brother’s birthday is also in December.
On top of that, there’s Christmas.
So we ate three cakes in December!
I wonder if the culture of Christmas cakes exists only in Japan? Do you have them in your country?

In my family, the Christmas cake was always an ice cream cake.
By December 25th, after already eating two cakes, the third cake would be something a little different—so we had an ice cream cake.
I looked forward to it every year.

And do you know this? It’s a pretty famous story.
In Japan, a lot of people eat KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) for Christmas.
Not everyone, of course.
Some people eat sushi or regular chicken, or just whatever they like.
But there are definitely people who eat KFC.
Every year during the Christmas season, KFC commercials are all over TV.

Today, to talk about Christmas in Japan, I prepared—or rather, ChatGPT prepared—some questions for me.
I’ll choose one of those questions to talk about.

“What did you do as a child on Christmas?”
Well, as I mentioned earlier, what about you all?
What did you do for Christmas?
Did you set up a Christmas tree, or did you do nothing at all?
Did Santa Claus come? Did you have a party?

For my family, as I said before, we put up a Christmas tree, ate delicious food on Christmas Eve, and went to sleep excited for Santa Claus.
The next morning, there were presents—yay!
Also, at school or extracurricular classes, we often had Christmas parties.

Do you know the word “narai-goto” (extracurricular activities)?
For example, piano lessons, swimming classes, English lessons, or calligraphy.
As children, we go to all kinds of lessons.
We often had Christmas parties at those places.

In Japan, Christmas trees are usually fake.
Of course, you can buy real Christmas trees.
It’s not that you can’t buy them, but they’re not very popular.
I wonder why? Maybe because they’re a hassle.
They’re heavy, and cleaning up is a pain. Japanese houses aren’t that big, either.

With fake Christmas trees, after the season ends, you can fold them up and just toss them into the closet.
For Japanese people, fake trees are more convenient.
Of course, I do admire those big Christmas trees like the ones you see in American movies, like Home Alone.
They’re so cool, aren’t they?

“Are there any special dishes or foods you eat at Christmas?”
Well, as I mentioned earlier, there’s nothing you absolutely have to eat in Japan.
Everyone just eats what they like.
But Christmas cake is quite popular.
Not everyone eats it, but a lot of people do.
What do you eat in your country? Do you have special dishes?

“What was your favorite Christmas present?”
To be honest, I don’t really remember which presents were for Christmas and which were for my birthday—it all kind of got mixed up.
But I really loved Pokémon games. I played them all the time.

One year, I also got takeuma (stilts) as a present.
That was something I requested from Santa Claus.
Stilts... how should I explain that? It’s like something you see in a circus: long poles with steps on them that you walk on.
If you don’t know, try searching for “takeuma” on Google.

I practiced on the stilts outside, even in the cold mornings of December.
Because of that, during my school’s sports festival, there was a stilt race, and I was the fastest!
My classmates cheered, “Wow, you’re so fast!”
That’s my one and only special skill—stilts.

“Do you have any favorite Christmas songs or movies?”
I love all Christmas songs.
But when I was a kid, I really loved the movie Home Alone.
So I particularly love the songs from that movie.
Just hearing them makes me excited.

As an adult, though, at least in Japan, people don’t really do much for Christmas.
It’s just a regular workday; it’s not a holiday.
After work, you might have dinner, and that’s it.
Some people exchange presents, but some don’t.
Every year, I don’t do anything—I don’t exchange gifts or give or receive any.

Even so, when I hear Christmas songs, I still get excited because of my childhood memories.

In Japan, Christmas is mostly an event for families with children, or for couples to go on romantic dates.
It’s more of a romantic day than a family holiday.

Also, I don’t really see Christmas markets in Japan.
I love the Christmas markets and Christmas vibes overseas, but Japan doesn’t quite have that atmosphere.
Everyone’s just working on the 24th and 25th.

New Year’s is much more important here.
That’s the big holiday.

Well, I think I’ll wrap it up soon.
If you’d like, please share your Christmas stories with me, too!

Thank you very much! See you again!