In Japan it is still Santa Claus, not Hotei, who gives children presents on Dec. 25. Still, every year in December, revelers put a Santa hat and beard on the Hotei statue in Tokyo's Maitreya Temple, or Mirokuden, which shows how common the identification of Hotei with Santa Claus has become.
How Do You Say Santa Claus In Japanese? Over in Japan, Santa Claus isn't quite the same holly-jolly guy he is over here. Instead, he's called 'Hoteiosho' and is a god or priest who brings gifts. How Do You Say Santa Claus In Russian?
Christmas is in the air! While it isn't a national holiday in Japan, since only about 1 percent of the whole population in Japan is Christian, it's still felt throughout the country.
Karimasu, the Japanese Christmas season, starts as early as mid-November. The Japanese regard Christmas as entertainment and a commercial rather than religious event (only 0.7% of the Japanese population is Christian).
The high-end food store Meijiya's display of a Christmas tree in its store in Tokyo's fashionable Ginza district in 1904 is commonly viewed as the genesis of regular seasonal celebrations in Japan. Today many families put up and decorate their own trees, usually artificial.
The 'Kentucky for Christmas' slogan was part of a marketing campaign in 1974 for the chicken franchise, and now every year around 3.6 million Japanese people sit down to eat KFC fried chicken for Christmas.
In Japan Santa is known as サンタさん、サンタクロース / Santa-san (Mr Santa) or サンタクロース / Santa-Kurosu (Santa Claus). (Another Japanese gift bringer is Hoteiosho, a Japanese god of good fortune from Buddhism.
But did you know that we Australians celebrate Christmas in July? It's pretty confusing if you really think about it, but Australians get to celebrate Christmas twice a year. Once on the traditional December 25th, and then once again in July.
In 2020, the global KFC website published its own explainer, noting that the original idea for the campaign came when a foreign customer who visited KFC in Tokyo on Christmas day said, "I can't get turkey in Japan, so I have no choice but to celebrate Christmas with Kentucky Fried Chicken".
No single religion is particularly dominant, and people often follow a combination of practices from multiple religious traditions. According to the Government of Japan, 69.0% of the population practises Shintō, 66.7% practise Buddhism, 1.5% practise Christianity and 6.2% practise other religions as of 2018.
In general, yes. Japanese kids generally believe that Santa Claus will bring them presents if they are good and are asleep when he comes. Parents often will find out through conversations what their children want for Christmas, while some children also write letters to Santa.
Christmas is very popular in Japan even though Christians represent less than one percent of the population. Decorations such as Christmas trees, ornaments, and lights are put up throughout the country and families go shopping before Christmas much like in the United States.
What is Santa Claus called in Australia? These days most Australians call Atnas (his real name) “Santa”.
Of course, simply granting the occasional wish is only the beginning of Hotei's powers. For example, Santa Claus wears red robes for celebratory reasons, but Hotei's robes protect him against disease and demonic attack. Moreover, he's often depicted carrying an oogi, a fan associated with Japanese aristocracy.
Therefore リース (wreaths), プレゼント (presents), サンタクロース (Santa Claus), イルミネーション (illumination) often abbreviated to イルミネー (illumine), キャンディケイン (candy cane) and, of course, the クリスマス ツリー (Christmas tree).
Even Santa Claus (Hawaiian: Kanakaloka) himself is not wearing his corporate red and white suit, but has swapped it for flowery Hawaiian clothes. Christmas wreaths are made from the poinsettia plant.
What's black and white and red all over? A zoo in Japan is getting into the Christmas spirit by dressing up their penguins in custom-made miniature Santa Claus costumes.
In 2006, a snowstorm hit the Snowy Mountains in New South Wales and Victoria, arriving on Christmas morning and bringing nearly 12 in (30 cm) of snow in higher areas.
Traditional Santas wear bright red fleecy suits, lined with white fur and big black boots to fight off the northern winter. In Australia, it's summer at Christmas time so you're much more likely to see a boardshort wearing Santa on a surfboard.
Luckily for Japanese children, the concept of Santa Claus is one Christmas tradition that is alive and well in Japan. Like other children worldwide, Japanese kids also look forward to a visit from Santa on Christmas Eve and a present waiting for them on Christmas morning.
Santa is known as 'Sheng dan Lao ren' in Mandarin, which translates as 'Christmas Old Man', and he is seen as a non-religious figure who lives in a fairytale Arctic Christmas Village in China's North Pole.
The History of Christmas in Japan
It's said that the first Christmas celebrated in Japan was in the 16th century, when Jesuit missionary Francis Xavier introduced Christianity, and with it, Christmas, to Japan when he arrived to Kagoshima in 1594.