Above, the Wako Dept. Store with Christmas lights lighting up the clock tower in Ginza. Photo by Armand Vaquer.An interesting article on Christmas in Japan was posted at Huffington Post.com:
Although it is said that most Japanese are Shinto and Buddhist, few people are aware the Japanese also participate in "commercialized Christianity" in order to take advantage of those fun Christian holidays.
Christmas, with its sparkly, over-glitzed trees, a cherry-cheeked Santa Claus and the ritual of gift-giving is irresistible to the Japanese who have taken to celebrating Christmas on a superficial level. You can hardly blame them for wanting to participate in such an entertaining religion.
But the Japanese have adjusted Christmas to their own liking. Santa-san enters the house through the window and brings one gift to each child on Christmas Eve, which he leaves on the child's bed.
To read the full article, go here.
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