Christmas is just a western thing isn’t it? Well, not entirely. If you find yourself not wanting to succumb to hosting a dinner for 500, and wanting to escape any family arguments that may just escalate over who has control over the TV remote, you could always fly over to Asia for a different kind of Christmas. Right?!
Asia currently has the highest proportion of Buddhists, however, there are still millions of Christians home to Asia, as well as the East being more and more open to adopting western practices and celebrations. Whether it’s just for commercial capital or a serious sequence of morning mass, we’ve looked into how Christmas is celebrated across Asia:
Japan
Although not inherited as a religious or public holiday, in bustling, modern cities like Tokyo, you’ll see wintery window displays in shopping malls and glistening Christmas trees lining the ever so tidy streets. The Japanese view Christmas as a time to share happiness and particularly love. Amongst the younger generation, it has evolved into a romantic time of year whereby couples will exchange gifts and spend the evening gazing into each other’s eyes over a candle lit meal – a bit like western Valentine’s Day.
However, this meal doesn’t have to be spent in the fanciest of restaurants. KFC will suffice. Since KFC’s marketing campaign in 1974, it’s now tradition in Japan to eat fried chicken during the holiday, making it the busiest time for fried chicken chains; but not to worry, you can even place your order in advance. This is all finished off with a large slice of Christmas cake – but not like how we know it. Japanese Christmas cake is THE cake emoji on iOS – a light sponge cake with layers of snowy-white, whipped cream topped with strawberries, which patriotically represents the colours of the Japanese flag.
Yet this time of year isn’t predominantly to celebrate Jesus’s birthday, but to celebrate their Emperor’s Birthday, which falls on December 23rd. It’s on this date that you’ll feel the true coming together of Japan with a public ceremony outside the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, including lots of flag waiving and cheering.
Philippines
It’ll be like a home from home if you fly out to the Philippines, as surprisingly, 90% of Filipinos are Christian. Inherited after missionaries from Spain and Portugal who travelled there in the 1500s, the Filipino’s go big with Christmas. Carols can be played in shops as early as September, and streets will be filled with star-shaped, paper lanterns lit on top of bamboo poles to symbolise goodwill and hope, resembling the Star of Bethlehem.
The official celebrations don’t commence until the 16th December, when communities across the country head to the first of nine early morning masses, the last being on Christmas Day. However, Christmas doesn’t see the end here. On the first Sunday of January, the ‘Feast of Three Kings’ is celebrated – a time to remember the three kings in Bethlehem with parades down the streets of Manila.
China
In true Chinese fashion, Christmas is mimicked in some well-developed cities such as Shanghai, where you’ll find extravagant, oversized displays in their even more extravagant, westernised malls. The Chinese can be very meaningful and thoughtful towards names, colours, particular traditions and of course, gifts, and nothing means Merry Christmas more than being a part of a cellophane-wrapped apple exchange on Christmas Eve. Translated from the Christmas carol, Silent Night, Ping’anye (平安夜) in Mandarin means peaceful, quiet evening, which they believe sounds uncannily familiar to the word for apple in Mandarin, pingguo (苹果), making it ping’anguo (平安果), the fruit of peace. And there we have it.
Vietnam
After some significant influence from the French, the people of Ho Chi Minh City in particular get too excited for Christmas and carry out the festivities a day early, on Christmas Eve. Herds of people will flock to the centre of the city to enjoy light shows, throw confetti and take many photos against the Christmas decorations. It’s an excuse for one big party. Typically French, the chocolate cake shaped like a log – Bruche de Noel – is also given as a gift to family and friends.
India
For the most colourful of Christmases, head to the City of Mumbai, Goa or to the South West where in total, 28 million Christians are homed, including some who even fast from 1st-24th December until midnight mass. Churches are decorated wall to wall with poinsettia flowers, and traditional Christmas trees are swapped for banana and mango trees – even the leaves are used to decorate homes.
To show to their neighbours that Jesus is the light of the world, Christians will burn small, oil lamps on the tops of flat roofs creating a warm glow across cities. Christmas is also a sweet time of year for India, just like the West, with nuereos – small pastries filled with dry fruit and coconut, and dodol – toffee with cashew and coconut, which are usually homemade and given as gifts. You’ll also catch sight of giant, paper lanterns in the shape of stars in a magnitude of different colours, as well as nativity scenes recreated with clay figurines.
South Korea
If you’re stuck working abroad over the Christmas holiday, lets hope you’re headed to South Korea as it’s one of few Asian countries who celebrate Christmas as an official public holiday. Correspondingly, this will also mean a work Christmas ‘do’ is on the cards in some way or another, whether that be a good or bad thing, we’ll leave that up to you. Unfortunately it’s back to work and back to school on Boxing Day, but be sure to take a detour on your commute home to the Han River bridges in Seoul to see a scene taken out of a Christmas fairy tale book.
Merry Christmas to Asia and the rest of the world!
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