Ho, Ho, Huh?

We have been in Japan since October 23. Halloween was October 31. The next day Christmas preparations started. First it was music. “Silent Night” in the grocery store. An over the top dramatic rendition of “Silver Bells” in the camping store. “The First Noel” in the train station shopping mall.

Next it was the fake Christmas trees in office buildings and at town landmarks. Then Santas started appearing. Santa in a red suit with a bag full of presents. Santa strumming a guitar. Hawaii Santa in shorts and a flowered shirt. But as it turns out, the Japanese have morphed the holiday to make it their own. According to one of our bike guides, it is a day of sweethearts – where girlfriends and boyfriends get together to celebrate each other. Awwww!

However, what surprised me the most about Japanese Christmas was the report I received from one of The Darlings: the go-to food on Christmas is KFC. That’s right, not just fried chicken – of which Japan has tons of, by the name of karaage – but specifically Kentucky Fried Chicken, complete with Colonel Sanders. 

According to CNN, “KFC Japan pulled in 6.9 billion yen (roughly US$63 million) from December 20 to 25 in 2018, with lines out the door starting on December 23.” The KFC franchise aggressively marketed the product to Japanese consumers, linking Colonel Sanders with Santa Claus. They even played the song “My Old Kentucky Home” – one that I’m sure most Americans do not know – as part of the campaign. I can attest to the familiarity of this song in Japan. A couple of days ago we were at a music museum. At the end of a presentation children were invited to come up and play a barrel organ type instrument. Each song that came out had a Christmas theme: “Jingle Bells,” “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer,” “White Christmas.” Then, “My Old Kentucky Home.” I noticed heads bobbing to the music. Clearly those heads had heard the tune before. I would venture to say also that it invoked positive memories. 

I find music puzzling in Japan. We were at Lake Hamana waiting for our turn on a ropeway when we heard a Scottish Highlands riff being played over and over. Then, as we were traveling above the lake, we listened to a jazz instrumental of Simon and Garfunkel’s “Homeward Bound.” Who makes these choices? Do the music mavens really know these songs?

But back to the chicken. I guess symbols can take on whatever meaning you attribute to them. Why is the peace sign the peace sign? Why do N and Y overlapping symbolize the New York Yankees? And how about the hanging out tongue? Everyone knows that represents the Rolling Stones. 

I guess if people in Japan want to relate to a fast food enterprise as a meaningful symbol in their lives, that’s up to them. Certainly Americans ascribe certain meanings to events that may not accurately correspond to the historical incident. And we make those meanings central to our national narrative. Thanksgiving anyone?  

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