This blog is going to be a lot of other people's words but all to explain why I got so excited this morning. Today is the last day (before Christmas) that our mamasan will be here. While I had already planned to bake her some good old American goodies I wasn't expecting her to bring us anything.
She greeted the boys and I with a box of Kentucky Fried Chicken! Oddly something I hadn't eaten in over 4 years although I pass them everywhere here. What a great gift! The only thing to make it better would be a sweet Okinawan cake. Maybe I'll make one later this week.
For those of you not on Okinawa, you've got to be thinking I'm a little crazy. I mean getting excited over fried chicken. We'll here's the big deal:
(Here is a blog from another blogger here on Okinawa)
Xmas in Japan means Xmas cake and KFC!
Xmas is more or less a Western holiday, but here in Japan, it is celebrated with a twist. Of course, most of the celebrating is commercialism at its best. Japanese stores and businesses put up Xmas decorations all in the hopes it will attract shoppers.
But aside from the "merriment" of Xmas decorations, Xmas in Japan is anything but ordinary. Many Japanese families treat themselves to a special Xmas eve dinner from KFC. That's right. Colonel Sanders has made a killing here in Japan selling pre-packaged Xmas chicken dinners. I'm not really sure where this tradition comes from, some have said that Japanese eat chicken because they want to imitate Westerners who eat turkey with all the trimmings. Or perhaps KFC's popularity has grown due to the fact that Japanese homes do not have large ovens. You simply can't make a roast turkey or a roast chicken in a little toaster oven. KFC has come to the rescue bringing Japanese people pure finger-lickin' deliciousness.
So if you're inclined to eat some fried chicken on Xmas eve, keep in mind lines might be long. You might want to place your order in early.
In addition to the "grease fest" of fried chicken, Japanese also like to partake in Xmas cake. Many Japanese bakeries like Fujiya, even ice cream parlors like Blue Seal sell special Xmas cakes. The cakes are usually sponge cakes decorated with whipped cream, strawberries, and cute little edible Santa Clauses and reindeer.
I think the Japanese have something here, because these cakes are delish! The cakes aren't too sweet and are oh so pretty to look at. If you want to take a look at the Xmas cake Kev and I had last year, take a look here.
Have I mentioned how much I love Xmas in Japan?
Happy Holidays!
25 days of weird Christmas: Kentucky Fried Japan
http://www.newsonjapan.com/html/newsdesk/article/78374.php
Compared to something like the the lap pillow, the Japanese Christmas tradition of eating Kentucky Fried Chicken seems pretty mundane, but for the purposes of this blog series, it's worth a nod. Blame it on savvy overseas marketing strategies by the fast food juggernaut or the mostly non-religious attitudes towards the holiday, but indulging in greasy buckets of KFC has become a commonplace practice on Christmas in Japan. Lines are known to stretch out the door on Christmas day as people wait for their annual treat.
Now do ya see why it's kind of a big deal? :)
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