Encouraged by commerce, the secular celebration of Christmas is popular in Japan, though Christmas is not a national holiday. Gifts are sometimes exchanged. Christmas parties are held around Christmas Day; Japanese
Christmas cake, a white sponge cake covered with cream and decorated with strawberries, is often consumed and
Stollen cake, either imported or made locally, is widely available. Christmas lights decorate cities, and Christmas trees adorn living areas and malls. Christmas Eve has become a holiday for couples to spend time together and exchange gifts. A successful advertising campaign in the 1970s made eating at
KFC around Christmas a national custom. Its chicken meals are so popular during the season that stores take reservations months in advance.
Christmas lights in
Tokyo
The first recorded Christmas in Japan was a Mass held by Jesuit Missionaries in
Yamaguchi Prefecture in 1552. Some believe that unrecorded celebrations were held before this date, starting in 1549 when
Saint Francis Xavier arrived in Japan. Christianity was banned throughout Japan in 1612. However, a small enclave of Kakure Kiri****an("hidden Christians") continued to practise underground over the next 250 years.
Christianity in Japan along with Christmas reemerged in the
Meiji period. Influenced by America, Christmas parties were held and presents were exchanged. The practice slowly spread, but its proximity to the
New Year's celebrations makes it a smaller focus of attention. During
World War II, all celebrations, especially American, were suppressed. From the 1960s, with an expanding economy, and influenced by American TV, Christmas became popular. Many songs and TV series present Christmas as romantic, for example "
Last Christmas" by
Exile. The birthday of the previous emperor,
Akihito, on December 23 is or was a national holiday. Businesses soon close for the New Year's holidays, reopening after January 3.