Reflecting on a Holiday in Japan

During my study abroad program in Japan, I found the main difference between Christmas in The United States and in Japan is the food. My real family back in the States were kind enough to send me packages with various Christmas sweets inside, much to my delight. But I was surprised when sharing these sweets with my friends and host family in Japan.

Mint is not a commonly-liked flavor here, and it is certainly not considered a Christmassy one. Although I was a little shocked, I was not complaining, because that leave more candy for me. The big difference between Christmas food in The U.S.A and in Japan is the main course.

In The United States it is typical for a family to have a main course of ham, or beef, or turkey. But in Japan it is usually chicken. Kentucky Fried Chicken, to be exact. Kentucky Fried Chicken has managed to convince the entire country of Japan that their food is what westerners eat on Christmas.

I am not joking.

Although it is certainly a lie, I was more than happy to eat fried chicken on Christmas, even if it isn’t what I was used to. It most definitely helped that my family’s Christmas fried chicken was homemade, and therefore extremely delicious.

Read more of Eve’s experience celebrating Christmas in Japan in her latest article.