Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Pagan Tama

Home
Pagan
Why Doesn’t Japan Celebrate Easter?

Why Doesn’t Japan Celebrate Easter?

Last updated on: August 29, 2016 at 10:31 am by Megan Manson

Why Doesn’t Japan Celebrate Easter? 2016-08-29T10:31:38+00:00 Megan Manson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Egg made from Japanese washi paper. By Brianjester (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.

Why doesn’t Japan celebrate Easter?

You might be thinking the answer is obvious: Japan is not a Christian country (less than 1% of Japanese claim Christian faith). But it’s a little more complex than that. The fact is, Japan does celebrate quite a few festivals that are associated with Christianity – in its own, Japanised way. In fact, the Christian elements of these festivals usually aren’t transmitted when celebrated in Japan, leaving just the secular (and often, Pagan) symbols behind, alongside some unique innovations by the Japanese. Some of these festivals include:

Christmas and New Year decorations in Sendai, Japan. Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.

Christmas (Kurisumasu)
Although perhaps the most important festival in much of Europe and the US, Christmas is a relatively minor event in Japan. It isn’t a public holiday for a start. It’s less of an occasion for getting together to eat with the whole family and giving gifts (although gift-giving at Christmas isn’t unknown in Japan), and more of an occasion for going out on dates or to parties. It is highly commercialised though, and around Christmas time in Japan you will see some familiar symbols like snowmen, Christmas trees and Santa Claus (or Father Christmas as we traditionally call him in the UK). What you won’t see so often are traditional Christian images like the Nativity. So in fact Christmas in Japan ends up looking more like Yule than Christmas!

Some of the new traditions that Japan has created for Christmas include the Christmas cake – a kind of sponge cake typically featuring white icing, whipped cream and strawberries – and going to eat Kentucky Fried Chicken.

The reason for the relatively low-key status of Christmas in Japan is that Shinto already has something similar – Shōgatsu, or New Year’s Day on January 1st. This involves family pilgrimages to local shrines and eating meals together, and perhaps more closely resembles the essence of Christmas in the West than Japan’s Kurisumasu.

White Day cake, given by men to women one month after Valentine’s Day in Japan. By Flickr user mersy ( Masashi Yanagiya)via Wikimedia Commons

Valentine’s Day (Barentain Dē)
This festival is perhaps the only Western festival in Japan that’s actually grown more complicated and ritual-bound than its Western counterpart. There are no references at all to St Valentine at Japan’s Barentain Dē, which is all about the giving of chocolate. But unlike Valentine’s Day in many Western countries, it is typically only women who give chocolate at Valentine’s Day in Japan. They give two particular types of chocolate gifts: Giri-choco (“obligation chocolate”) for friends and colleagues with no romantic attachments, and honmei-choco (“favoured chocolate”) for those one truly loves. But that’s not all. One month later on March 14th, Japan celebrates “White Day,” in which all the men who received chocolate at Valentine’s Day give women something in return, usually white chocolate. This is all to do with Japan’s complex culture surrounding reciprocity and gift-giving.

Woman wearing Halloween-themed kimono in Japan. By Asteiner (Own work) via Wikimedia Commons

Halloween (Harowin)
Halloween seems to be getting more popular in Japan according to John Dougill’s Green Shinto blog. You’ll see plenty of pumpkins, witches, ghosts, bats, and skeletons decorating shops and public buildings in October in Japan, although activities such as costume parties and Trick-Or-Treat are rare in my experience. You’re also unlikely to see depictions of native Japanese monsters and demons, or rituals connected with the ancestors or death, because Japan has its own holidays associated with honouring departed spirits, the most important being the Bon festival in the summer.

Ritual & Festivals

Shinto & Japanese Religion

Previous Post

March 19, 2016

The Path of the Free

Next Post

March 28, 2016 Pagan, Shinto & Spiritual Book Reviews March 2016

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Art, Craft & Expression Musings & Miscellaneous Nature & Science News & Reviews Ritual & Festivals Secularism, Politics & Human Rights Shinto & Japanese Religion Uncategorized

Select a Month August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

I am a sea that parted to let my people cross on dry ground but drowned their enemies. What am I?

Select your answer to see how you score.

The Red Sea The Sea of Galilee The Mediterranean Sea The Jordan River