Christmas is not a widely celebrated holiday in Japan. Most Japanese are not Christian, and schools and businesses stay open on December 25. But if you were to walk around any stores between Halloween and late December, you would think otherwise. Christmas music plays in stores, and Christmas decorations appear in 100 yen shops, grocery …
Month: December 2015
The Good Luck Festival (Tori no Ichi)
Every fall, shrines across Japan hold Tori no Ichi festivals. Business owners come to these festivals to buy good luck symbols called kumade, which the owners display in their businesses during the coming year. Two weeks ago my friend Chika invited Cy and and I to join her family to see such a festival at …
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