AIST
I woke up on Chirstmas Eve day at 7 am and was at work by 8. The paper that I submitted to the Science China journal needed a couple revisions before the deadline on Monday, 27th....ugh. I put on my big boy pants and headed to work. Fortunately, Kate played tour guide to Mary, Louis, and my dad as they walked around AIST's museums that day. As mentioned in previous posts, Science Square Tsukuba was more of a crowd pleaser than the Geological Museum.
After they got done playing "Louis' head on dad's body" we met up for lunch. Unfortunately, I still hadn't finished at work so they trudged around the Geography museum for a while. Later that day we all met a the house to start the Christmas festivities.
Christmas in Japan
Christmas in Japan is nothing more than a commercial holiday that you spend with your significant other. Men are expected to spend ridiculous amounts of money on their girlfriends, and that's about it. No family gatherings, no time off work, and no religious significance. Although the generic atmosphere of Christmas is here (Christmas lights, Santa hats, Western Christmas music, holiday sales in stores), there is no religious depth behind it.
Of course, if you understand the religiosity of Japan this is no surprise to you. Celebrating this time in a country comprised primarily of Buddhists means that CHRISTmas turns into Xmas. Everywhere you turn, it's "Xmas" this and "Xmas" that. Rarely will you actually read something that says "Christmas." Although I do feel like America is becoming like this more and more every year, at least everyone knows the actual story behind Christmas, the birth of Jesus. It was quite odd, to say the least.
Xmas Dinner
Roast turkey or ham, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, eggnog, and pie. These food items constitute what we fondly call "Christmas Dinner" in America. As you might have guessed, Japan has quite a different menu when it comes to dinner on December 25th; fried chicken! Not just any fried chicken, KFC fried chicken. This is what I refer to as "Xmas dinner."
Santa Claus and Colonel Sanders are synonymous in the eyes of the typical Japanese citizen. Through a stroke of marketing genius, KFC has convinced the entire nation that everyone else in the world eats KFC on Christmas, its a virtual monopoly. For your viewing pleasure, I've provided this Japanese commercial.
Knowing these facts, Kate and I thought that it would be fun to make a Japanese Christmas dinner. We opted to cook our own since we didn't want to deal with the KFC madness. Our Xmas dinner menu was ginger soy fried chicken, sashimi, rice, sashimi salad, and for some American flair, mac and cheese. We had never hosted such a prestigious dinner, but managed to pull it off in our 6'x10' kitchen (without an oven).
After we had filled our bellies full of chicken and fish we went down stairs and started opening gifts! This was great fun where we all enjoyed ourselves and laughed a lot. Towards the end of the gift exchange the Haines came down and joined in the fun.
I woke up on Chirstmas Eve day at 7 am and was at work by 8. The paper that I submitted to the Science China journal needed a couple revisions before the deadline on Monday, 27th....ugh. I put on my big boy pants and headed to work. Fortunately, Kate played tour guide to Mary, Louis, and my dad as they walked around AIST's museums that day. As mentioned in previous posts, Science Square Tsukuba was more of a crowd pleaser than the Geological Museum.
It may not look like it, but dad and Mary are in a totally separate room from Kate and Louis. It is essentially the green screen effect that is used in movies.
After they got done playing "Louis' head on dad's body" we met up for lunch. Unfortunately, I still hadn't finished at work so they trudged around the Geography museum for a while. Later that day we all met a the house to start the Christmas festivities.
Christmas in Japan
Christmas in Japan is nothing more than a commercial holiday that you spend with your significant other. Men are expected to spend ridiculous amounts of money on their girlfriends, and that's about it. No family gatherings, no time off work, and no religious significance. Although the generic atmosphere of Christmas is here (Christmas lights, Santa hats, Western Christmas music, holiday sales in stores), there is no religious depth behind it.
Of course, if you understand the religiosity of Japan this is no surprise to you. Celebrating this time in a country comprised primarily of Buddhists means that CHRISTmas turns into Xmas. Everywhere you turn, it's "Xmas" this and "Xmas" that. Rarely will you actually read something that says "Christmas." Although I do feel like America is becoming like this more and more every year, at least everyone knows the actual story behind Christmas, the birth of Jesus. It was quite odd, to say the least.
Xmas Dinner
Roast turkey or ham, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, eggnog, and pie. These food items constitute what we fondly call "Christmas Dinner" in America. As you might have guessed, Japan has quite a different menu when it comes to dinner on December 25th; fried chicken! Not just any fried chicken, KFC fried chicken. This is what I refer to as "Xmas dinner."
Knowing these facts, Kate and I thought that it would be fun to make a Japanese Christmas dinner. We opted to cook our own since we didn't want to deal with the KFC madness. Our Xmas dinner menu was ginger soy fried chicken, sashimi, rice, sashimi salad, and for some American flair, mac and cheese. We had never hosted such a prestigious dinner, but managed to pull it off in our 6'x10' kitchen (without an oven).
Here we are. I'm frying the chicken and Kate is putting the sashimi (raw fish) salad together.
"Xmas dinner"
After we had filled our bellies full of chicken and fish we went down stairs and started opening gifts! This was great fun where we all enjoyed ourselves and laughed a lot. Towards the end of the gift exchange the Haines came down and joined in the fun.
Kate and I felt very blessed to be surrounded by our dear friends and family during such an important holiday.
Check back soon for our adventure to Nikko!
-Seth
February 11, 2011 at 1:20 PM
It makes me happy to think of Homie wondering around Japan with a camera. I like to picture this in my head. The fascination of a different place than Aztec, NM.