Christmas in Japan looks quite different from the way it is celebrated in the West.
In Europe and the United States, Christmas is a solemn family holiday. Most shops close, people return home, and the cities grow quiet. Japan, on the other hand, treats Christmas as a day for couples, a peak season for shopping malls, restaurants, and romantic marketing campaigns.
Being single on Christmas even has its own nickname: “クリぼっち(Kuri-bocchi)” (literally, “Christmas alone”). Some single people jokingly sing Jingle Bells as “Single Bell,” turning self-deprecation into seasonal humor.
シングルベル、シングルベル、鈴がなる♪
(♪ Single bell, single bell, single all the way)
The Day Christmas Arrived in Japan
Christmas first reached Japan in the 16th century.
In 1549, Francis Xavier arrived as a missionary, and Christianity began spreading across Japan. In 1552, a Christmas Mass was held in Yamaguchi—considered the very first Christmas celebration on Japanese soil.
Christianity later disappeared from public life due to the Tokugawa shogunate’s ban. But when the ban was lifted in 1873, Christmas returned to Japan as part of the Westernization boom of the Meiji era.
By 1886, Japan saw its first decorated Christmas tree at Meidi-ya in Yokohama. December 7 is still known as “Christmas Tree Day” because of this event.
When Christmas Became a Visible Part of Japanese Life
On December 25, 1926, Emperor Taisho passed away.
Starting the following year, December 25 became a national holiday known as the Taisho Emperor Festival.
For roughly twenty years (1927–1947), Christmas coincided with a public holiday. This accidental overlap quietly planted the idea that December 25 is a special day.
Although Christmas faded during World War II due to its Western origins, it resurfaced powerfully after the war. American movies, music, and magazines introduced a glamorous, “Hollywood-style” Christmas that captivated the Japanese imagination.
From the 1950s onward, department stores and shopping streets launched full-scale Christmas promotions—complete with trees, gifts, cakes, and the tradition of giving presents to children.
This is when Christmas finally became a firmly established part of everyday Japanese life.
The Curious Birth of Japan’s “Kentucky Christmas”
When Japanese people think of Christmas dinner, many imagine Kentucky Fried Chicken.
This unique custom began with the wildly successful 1974 marketing campaign, “Kentucky for Christmas!” After that, eating fried chicken on Christmas became a nationwide tradition.
KFC Party Barrel typically includes a bucket of chicken, a cake, salad, sometimes lasagna in recent years, and used to have a decorative plate. I haven’t eaten one in ages, I’ve been on a ketogenic diet for about ten years, but the nostalgia remains.
How Christmas Became “A Night for Lovers”
By the 1980s, women’s magazines were running annual Christmas features with predictable themes:
“A Night with Your Boyfriend,” “Romantic Date Spots,” “Perfect Christmas Gifts.”
This was when the idea of “Christmas = a romantic couple’s holiday” firmly took root among young people.
In 1980, Yumi Matsutoya’s hit song “恋人がサンタクロース(Koibito ga Santa Claus)” (“My Lover Is Santa Claus”) amplified the image of Christmas as a night filled with romance and anticipation.
(Lyrics: Yumi Matsutoya, English translation by Umineko)
♪Long ago, the stylish woman next door said to me on Christmas Day
"Tonight, when eight o'clock comes around, Santa will come to my house."
"That's not true, that's only in picture books."
She winked at me when I said that, and added,
"When you grow up, you’ll understand too, someday.”My bf is Santa Claus, he's really Santa Claus, racing past the whirlwind.
My bf is Santa Claus, a tall Santa Claus, who came from the snowy town♪
Times Change: “Kuri-bocchi” Becomes Normal
But the landscape has changed dramatically in recent years.
A 2024 survey found that 42% of single men and women aged 25–34 spend Christmas alone, while only 21% spend it with a romantic partner.
When I was around twenty, this would have been unthinkable.
Back then, many young women rushed to “find a boyfriend before Christmas,” and as the days grew colder in late October and November, group dating events 合コン(goukon) multiplied.
There was a palpable sense of “I refuse to spend Christmas alone!”
Today’s young adults, however, seem much more relaxed.
You cannot will a romantic partner into existence by a deadline, and perhaps the modern attitude is far healthier.
