Christmas means fun and parties for many Japanese

By Kornelius Purba

TOKYO (JP): The Japanese are among the most enthusiastic people in welcoming Christmas, although the number of Christians in Japan is only about one percent of the 126.5 million population.

The festive atmosphere is not only felt in Tokyo, but also in Osaka, Kyoto, Atami, and in the ancient town of Kamakura.

Christmas day on Dec. 25, as with other religious commemorations in Japan, is not a public holiday.

Two days before Christmas, the Japanese celebrate the birthday of Emperor Akihito who was born on Dec. 23, 1933. This is a public holiday. From Dec. 29 to Jan. 3, government and private companies are closed to enable their staffs to enjoy the new year holidays.

In early November, many families would start putting up their Christmas trees at their homes. In popular shopping centers or public parks in Tokyo, like the Hibiya, Shinjuku, Harajuku, Ginza, or Shibuya, there is competition among the businesses to welcome Christmas as noisily as possible.

In predominantly Christian countries, such early preparations for the festivity are rare. It would be difficult to see Christmas trees in Rome, Paris or Washington in early November.

In Yoshikawa, Saitama prefecture, the local government this year has prohibited people from putting up Christmas lights on a seven-meter tall fir tree which grows in front of a local train station because local officials believe the tree will be stressed by the light and heat.

Major TV stations, like Asahi TV, Fuji TV and NTV are also busy with their Christmas programs. On Christmas eve, Japan's Shinsei Symphony Orchestra is scheduled to perform Beethoven's overture. The British St. John College choir will sing religious carols from Gloria Sanctus to Mendelssohn's Ave Maria.

Top hotels, from the Imperial to the New Otani will also provide special dinners to celebrate one of the most important days for Christians. TV stations have also invited chefs from top class restaurants and hotels to teach TV viewers how to make special Christmas meals and cakes for the Christmas eve family dinner.

Alcohol

In Japan, drinking alcohol has become an important part of their daily lives. Big supermarkets and departments stores like Daiei, offer special French wines, local sakes and champagnes to celebrate this special day.

Special lingerie are even advertised in popular magazines, such as Flash. The magazine has even featured a girl holding a Christmas tree in the nude. In Indonesia a magazine will face unimaginable consequences for such a feature.

"Christmas gives us a good excuse to drink at pubs, or other places, and party with our friends after the exhausting working hours," said Yasui Funaki, a senior staff of a giant electronic manufacturer.

Funaki said for most Japanese, Christmas has nothing to do with religion, they just celebrate it for fun. It is also a lucrative business for retailers, hoteliers, and consumer oriented business, he said.

Citing complaints from his Japanese friends in Jakarta, Funaki said his compatriots cannot celebrate Christmas properly at the Japanese pubs in the Melawai area, South Jakarta because certain groups have threatened to destroy the places if they are opened during the fasting month of Ramadhan.

"Why are we prohibited from celebrating Christmas?" he complained.

According to Yoko Saito, a Japanese language teacher for foreigners in Arayakushi-Mae, Tokyo, she prepares Christmas dinner for her family, and includes the cake and champagne. She also prepares special gifts for her 17-year-old daughter and 14- year-old son, and of course her husband, who is a chemistry lecturer at Waseda University.

"I celebrate Christmas although I do not have any religion. I am a 'religious unbeliever'," she cited the famous remark from Albert Einstein about religion.

According to Father Doni, a Catholic priest at the St. Ignatius Church, for many Japanese, Christmas is another festival.

"They like festivals, and so celebrate Christmas although they do not necessarily understand the meaning of it," said the priest.

The number of Shintoist in Japan is about 105 million, and Buddhist, about 95 million. This exceeds their total population. This means some Japanese have more than one religion.

Christianity was introduced in Japan in the middle of the 16th century. It was banned during Japan's isolation era. It was reintroduced again when relations with the West was restored in the middle of the 19th century.

Shinto was the official Japanese religion until Japan surrendered to the U.S. led allied forces in 1945 at the end of World War II. A new constitution was then written for Japan

The constitution rules that no religious organization shall receive any privilege from the state, nor can it exercise any political authority. And also no person shall be compelled to take part in any religious act, celebration, rite or practice.

Religion here is generally regarded as part of social ceremonies. Shinto is related to birth and the coming of age. While Buddhist rites are performed at funerals.

"Many Japanese couples marry in the church although they are not Christians. They opt to wed here because the Christian wedding ceremony is quite romantic. I think that is their only reason for coming here," said Keiko Suzuki, a student of Sophia University.