I’ve been celebrating Christmas in Japan for over 6 years. Laging sa Japan kami nag-celebrate ng pasko except last year when I celebrated the Holiday in Europe. Pero ngayon lang ako naka-celebrate ng pasko dito na mas malawak ang pagiisip or should I say, I’m more mature now than my previous Christmas celebration here kaya naman mas naintindihan ko ang difference ng Christmas dito sa Japan with Philippines’.
For starters, Christmas here isn’t a religious celebration. It’s more of a bonding time to spend with your family, friends or if you have a boyfriend or a girlfriend. Last night, naramdaman ko talaga na single ako huhu. I have friends here in Japan and they all have girlfriends. In my surprise, they actually booked hotels for you know, couple thingy. Basically, ang Christmas eve and Christmas day itself is the peak season for couple bang bang jingle bells hahahah!
Another thing is napansin kong mahilig sila sa fried foods during this Holiday. Most of our foods in our Noche Buena last night were mostly fried, some are grilled tapos kaunti lang yung seafood. Actually, what we prepared for our Noche Buena was Filipino foods kasi gusto daw kumain ng stepdad ko ng lutong pinoy kahit pa almost araw araw kami nagluto ang mom for them, iba pa rin talaga kapag sa may occasion ka kakain ng lutong Pinoy. Then meron pa silang hinanda na strawberry cake, yung parang favorite ni Erza ng Fairy Tail. I guess it’s tradition here in Japan to eat such kasi lagi kaming may ganun e hahaha.
Anyway, here’s some of our handa last night, Christmas eve:
Of course, may sushi and tempura
And some lutong Pinoy…
And syempre, hindi ata mawawala ang personal favorite kong croissant at sa akin lang ito hahaha! I don’t even know where they got it but I’m happy na meron.
Tapos nung nag-12 na, you know what it is, exchange gift time. Ang nabunot ko kasi is yung little brother ko, I got him a new pair of running shoes since he’s a part of their school’s track and field at yung gamit niyang sapatos ay gusto nang sumuko, I decided to buy him a new one. Ang nakabunot naman sa akin is yung stepdad ko and he gave me this.
I really appreciate it because he knows what I want. and talagang naghanap pa siya ng English version. Bata palang kasi ako, mahilig na ako maglaro ng Super Mario and having this brings back childhood memories. Sobrang masaya ako, except PSP ang meron ako at wala akong DS so I don’t know how am I suppose to play it hahaha.
Okay so that was last night. Ngayong Christmas day mismo, wala naman masyadong ganap kanina. Nagbatuhan lang kami ng snowballs. But tonight, magba-bar kami. Walwalan na this!
So far, I really do enjoy my stay here in Japan, especially the Christmas experience here. It’s not really far from my Filipino or Italian kind of celebration, after all, Christmas is all about happiness and sharing. What I realized throughout this holiday season is that as you grow older, your Christmas wish list goes shorter because as you mature, what you want for Christmas can’t be bought with money.
Have a blessed Christmas everyone!
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