This is the live camera to see Tokyo Tower. They have a heart-shaped mark Christmas
lightning. Today I went Christmas shopping, there were long queues in
every KFC. Some Japanese eat KFC for Christmas. The KFC in Japan sells big
Christmas cakes too, because Japanese think that cake is important for
Christmas dinner. Many Japanese will believe it would be traditional way.
But my American friend said it's so Japanese. Wow is it true? Here is Christmas
cake page. This is the typical Christmas cake. I will get and eat
one tomorrow. Until the 70's or so, Christmas cake was the words to say
something about young ladies. It means "after 25th, it will get to be
worthless." But now nobody says like that, nobody thinks that way. (
I hope so :-)
Joi Ito posted this explanation for the Christmas KFC tradition on his blog: "When my friend Shin, introduced KFC to Japan, the ad campaign showed wealthy American families all eating friend chicken for their holiday feast. KFC was marketed as an upscale food of the privileged in America. This triggered a tradition in Japan for families to eat friend chicken on Christmas."
This kind of corporate revisionism for foreign markets isn't uncommon. For example , Foster's markets itself worldwide as the quintessential Austrailian beer, though it's actually unpopular in Austrialia and is brewed in Canada for the American market.
Posted by: Ran | Friday, January 27, 2006 at 11:56 AM
Cool, I like the tower cam. :)
Never had any of the cakes shown, sorry. Might be a british or generally European tradition? I remember seeing a couple somewhat fancy holiday cakes in the bakery near here, however, so someone here in the states celibrates with them at least.
For Christmas with my family, we always have pretty much the same meal as thanksgiving LOL. Turkey, yams, homemade biscuits, mashed potatoes, stuffing, etc. For dessert: cherry or apple pie and every couple of years, maybe pumpkin. We also have a cake, but nothing fancy. Its usually walnut cake (ground black walnuts), home cooked by my mom (since we eat together for the holidays) if not walnut then a simple three layered chocolate cake. We do get fruit cakes but only my parents enjoy them. I for one am not a fan.
Thanks for the interesting reading. :)
Posted by: Dave77 | Friday, December 30, 2005 at 11:37 AM
Hi there
Hmm UK has cake and in the US, it is not common. Very interesting, you know I have belived in cake would be common in my life. So this is so big news for me.
Posted by: Mari | Wednesday, December 28, 2005 at 03:24 PM
Some people have fruitcake--my dad used to bake it from scratch, and it was delicious. Some have pie--pumpkin, pecan, sweet potato, mincemeat (made of raisins and apples, not meat) are common. Some have cookies-- gingerbread, sugar cookies, and many traditional recipes that are made only at this time of year. Others eat fudge and other candy (such as candy canes). Many people enjoy some of everything as they visit others during the holiday season.
A few people have "birthday cake" for Jesus on Christmas Day, but this is not too common, it's more to help children learn the religious lesson behind Christmas.
Happy holidays to all, no matter what you celebrate.
Posted by: Claire | Sunday, December 25, 2005 at 11:51 AM
The Christmas cakes are lovely, but I must agree that they are not common in the west. In the States, pie is much more common at Christmas. Often pumpkin pie.
Posted by: David | Sunday, December 25, 2005 at 11:37 AM
Hi Mari
In the UK it is also traditional to have cake at Christmas.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_cake
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_pudding
We also traditionally have Roast Turkey at this time.
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Christmas_dishes#United_Kingdom]
Most of the food tends to be cooked by the mother of the house, who slaves for days to make the day 'special' for all the family.
The day after Christmas is called Boxing Day in the UK, and traditionally we eat whatever food was left over from Christmas day. orz
Have a great xmas!
Keitaro
Posted by: coder.keitaro | Sunday, December 25, 2005 at 05:03 AM