It’s late December now, and in Japan that means Christmas! You may think it’s strange, because obviously Christmas is a day belonging to the Christian calendar. You might expect Japanese people to believe in Buddhism or Shinto.

In fact, according to “Japan Almanac 2000”, the percentage of Buddhists and Shintonists is approximately 95 percent and Christians in Japan make up only 0.8 percent. But in contradiction, almost all Japanese do celebrate Christmas in their own way. What’s behind this phenomenon?

For one thing, they don’t seem to care so much about the importance of religious meaning, but care more about excitement in their lives. Actually the Japanese are good at taking the good parts of other cultures, and modifying them to their own way.

'Kanji’ is good example. Kanji characters are originally from China, and the Japanese created from it two types of characters which are called ‘hiragana’ and ‘katakana’.

In London, Christmas day is very quiet. The majority of shops are closed, and some public transport like the tube stop. But in Japan, transportation continues as normal, and so do shops. In fact, they are busy, because many Japanese young people like to go to the city centres and have some Christmas events.

Christmas seems good to the Japanese as an event, not as a religious celebration. Most families have a dinner with a Christmas cake on Christmas Eve, the Children may get a gift on the following morning, and couples could have a good memory on Christmas Eve. Shopping stores can acquire a considerable turnover especially for the Christmas period. Everyone is happy with Christmas except for parents!

At the height of the bubble economy, Japanese economy was booming and massive. During this time, Christmas was a special event. Guys who had a girlfriend would rush to book a luxury room at a high grade hotel up to half a year in advance.

Otherwise, you would be faced with long waiting lists. You don’t need to book so early these days because of the prolonged recession. Who knows, you might even able to book a room today!

Have a merry Christmas the Japanese way!