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KENTUCKY FRIED CHICKEN

October 19, 2014 By Howard Kramer 2 Comments

Tokyo, Japan

Fried Chicken & Christmas Cake

KFC Christmas Advertisement (kirainet.com)

KFC Christmas Advertisement (kirainet.com)

For the ultimate experience in misinformed Christmas feasts, nothing tops the Japanese holiday tradition of KFC.  Yes, you read that correctly.  Kentucky Fried Chicken, followed by a traditional western-style Christmas cake, is the standard Christmas dinner in Japan.  Although barely two percent of the Japanese population is Christian, virtually the entire country has embraced the commercial aspects of Christmas.  There are parties, exchanges of gifts, and the consumption of copious amounts of the colonel’s best.

How did this tradition get started?  KFC opened its first franchises in Japan in the early 1970s.  According to legend, a Christian missionary school was having difficulty acquiring a turkey for their holiday dinner.  In desperation, they placed a large order from the KFC that had recently opened nearby.  An employee suggested that they use this event as a hook to bring in new customers.  Five years and a massive marketing campaign later, virtually everyone in Japan was eating KFC on Christmas Eve.  Christmas week now accounts for nearly a quarter of KFC’s annual receipts in Japan.  God bless us, everyone.

KFC Tokyo (kirainet.com)

KFC Tokyo (kirainet.com)

Now on the more reasonable side is the Japanese Christmas cake.  This tradition actually dates back more than a century.  It was begun in 1910 by one Fujii, a baker and founder of the Fujiya company, who began making holiday fruit cakes for sale to western expats.  By the 1920s the idea of the Christmas cake had begun to catch on to the general populace, especially in Tokyo.  Although Japanese Christmas cakes now come in a wide variety, virtually no house in Japan is without at least one during the holiday week.

So there you have it: a fried chicken dinner from KFC, and a traditional cake from Fujiya.  Both are available all over Japan.  However, lines for KFC can be daunting on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  Meals are sometimes ordered up to two months in advance; this is not an exaggeration.  As of this writing it could not be identified which KFC was the one which originated the tradition.  But if you’re in Japan during Christmas, pick any one and go nuts.  Web: www.kfc.co.jp (official website of KFC in Japan)

Filed Under: Christmas Tagged With: Japan/Korea

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About Howard Kramer

Howard Kramer is the creator and author of The Complete Pilgrim. He first took an interest in religious sites in his early twenties when traveling through Italy after college. In the two decades since he has traveled to more than two dozen countries and almost every state, visiting and photographing hundreds of the world’s greatest churches, synagogues and other places of religious interest. Howard has been writing about religious sites for the better part of the last decade, and The Complete Pilgrim is a culmination of years of his work and passion.

Comments

  1. Rubi kaur says

    March 17, 2020 at 11:49 pm

    Looks delicious ! I was wondering if you could post recipes for school lunches? I’m trying to eat healthier while trying to balance out homework and exercise and I would like some simple, quick and healthy lunch recipes. Thanks 🙂

    Reply
    • Howard Kramer says

      March 23, 2020 at 12:08 pm

      Sorry. I’m definitely not the person you want to get advice from for eating healthy.

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Where would you like to go?

Africa (North) Africa (Sub-Sahara) Arabia Armenia/Azerbaijan/Georgia Australia/Pacific Austria/Switzerland Balkans Belgium/Netherlands British Isles Canada Caribbean Central Asia China Czech Republic Egypt France Germany Greece Hungary/Romania/Bulgaria India (NE)/Nepal India (NW) India (South)/Sri Lanka Iran/Iraq Israel Italy/Malta Japan/Korea Latin America Mexico Palestine Poland/Lithuania Russia Scandinavia Southeast Asia Spain/Portugal Syria/Jordan/Lebanon Turkey/Cyprus Ukraine US-California US-Mid Atlantic US-Midwest US-New England US-New York US-Pacific Northwest US-South US-Southwest

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Have a comment, a great photo or a religious site you'd like to nominate for the weekly spotlight? We would love to hear from you. Email us at hkramer@thecompletepilgrim.com.

About the Author

Howard Kramer is the creator and author of The Complete Pilgrim. He first took an interest in religious sites in his early twenties when traveling through Italy after college. In the two decades since he has traveled to more than two dozen countries and almost every state, visiting and photographing hundreds of the world’s greatest churches, synagogues and other places of religious interest. Howard has been writing about religious sites for the better part of the last decade, and The Complete Pilgrim is the culmination of years of his work and passion.

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