Ah, I love Christmas. That special time of year you spend at work with your workmates who never talk to you. That one time of the year you can sit at your desk all day long and do nothing productive. It really is a Christmas to remember.
I really don't mind too much. Being brought up by Dutch, I never really believed in Santa. Saint Nicholas and Santa in the same month. If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is. I clearly remember my older neighbour telling me that it was your parents who read your Christmas wish-list and drink the milk and cookies. I wasn't shocked. I think, somehow, I already knew. I was much smarter than those fools who still write to Santa at 8 years old. Also, being brought up in New Zealand for the summer Christmas. Parents have a much harder job lying to their children to 'keep the magic of Christmas alive'. My parents, thankfully, weren't that dedicated.
To me, Christmas is a time where you avoid shopping areas even more than usual, and you have a day off. Okay, there are some exceptions, as Christmas is a very bust day at the office for certain essential public services such as hospitals, police and churches.
But no… Christmas did not come to Japan… It is just another day at work. I could've taken a day off, but there would be nothing to do, and besides, that isn't the point. It is just strange because the Japanese, in their efforts to be just like America (only cleaner, and less fat) also go crazy around Christmas, just like normal countries. It is completely commercialised (which is ideal in Japan as most people think a cross is just a pretty design to hang from a cheap, 3% real silver necklace), shops have been blasting carols for the whole of December, and there was even an old white guy dressed as Santa at the mall. Where they found an old white guy in this prefecture, I don't know. They could've imported it, of course.
However,HoHH there are two major differences I have discovered. Santa doesn't live on the North Pole, but in Finland. This is rather mysterious, but it is near fact in Japanese Santa folklore. Secondly, presents are opened on Christmas Eve. I think this has to do with the fact that everyone has to work or go to school on Christmas day, but when you think about it, this would mean that they open presents before Santa actually gives them. That is some classic Japanese efficiency.
So the first premise of my idea of Christmas was ruined. I had to work. The other one, avoiding shopping areas more than usual, also went out the window. It was a silly mistake. Its easy to forget its Christmas here sometimes, partly because I hang out a lot with a Christmas-hating New Zealander and a Jew. The afternoon after a night out which finished at 6:30AM, the Jew and I decided to go somewhere for coffee. In our town, that inevitably means a minimum half-hour drive. So we drove to perhaps the biggest mall in the prefecture. As we saw the mall on the horizon, we realised our fatal mistake. It was Christmas Eve. The mall looked more like Mecca. It was a 15 minute struggle to get a parking space, and twice as long to leave.
However, I have not gone through a year without celebrating a Christmas of sorts. The New Zealand Association of Toyama prefecture threw a swanky Christmas party. Needless to say, I was the only New Zealander there. I went to this party with a healthy amount of scepticism. You see, these things are moth lights for people I call "Eikaiwa (English conversation) sluts". Especially in Toyama prefecture, English speakers are very rare, so many go to conversation classes, and try to find a foreign person to talk at. I mean, I don't mind speaking English to Japanese people, but they will have to pay.
Materialistically, it was a great party though. It cost only about 10$ US (double for non-foreigners… for once, racism is in my favour. It is sweet being a minority sometimes). It was an all you can eat and drink, and much of it was imported goods. I easily regained my losses. And surprisingly, I wasn't a speech practice target. It was worthwhile going, but the concerning thing was how New Zealand was represented.
This picture is of the display at the front. Australians were also invited. A koala is fine for that… But a sheep for New Zealand is practically an insult. I can see the New Zealand Association of New Zealand is doing some fine P.R. work. However, Christmas is no time for bitterness, so I will finish by wishing you all a better Christmas than I had.
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