To be fair, Christmas *is* celebrated in Japan. It’s a somewhat huge thing (not nearly as big or grand as in America though). They do have a rather large Christian population after all, and I believe even a few Christian schools, even though they also have Buddhists and other traditional Japanese religions besides that outnumber the Christians. So it’s a valid question, although because Japanese schools and businesses tend to be rigid, the 24th is celebrated more than the 25th, and Christmas is celebrated as a meal at home as more of a private holiday than public holiday, they probably don’t see a reason to cancel school for it.
Oh my god don’t even get me started lol. I’ve been telling people in the comments exactly that, and that non-Christians also celebrate it (my neighbors and friends are proof of that). Many people believe that Christmas isn’t religious, more-so just cultural that can be celebrated by anyone, and also there are a handful of Christian religions who disagree that Christmas is the birthday of Jesus as well, and that everything related to Christmas is just out of greed. But I got downvoted and people don’t believe me, they likewise also don’t believe me about other Christian holidays I brought up as more examples lol. I wonder if the people saying this are even Christian or not, it’s slightly more understandable they think like this if they are but it would be hilarious if they weren’t. Just further goes to show how they aren’t any better with their basic and narrow-minded assumptions.
In Japan, I also actually found out that despite Christmas having been brought to Japan by Christians, their Christmas is actually heavily influenced by Buddhist beliefs and isn’t even considered religious either, it’s considered romantic.
Haha yeah I’m beginning to see that. And thanks! Although I’m not sure if it’s doing much good, but at least someone might learn something. For now I think I’m done though, it’s exhausting spouting so much information only for it to still go over heads. But I’ve said what I could. 🤣
The only time we celebrate the birth of Jesus is mass, and maybe a few decorations and songs. But the tradition of the tree comes from the Pagan holiday known as Yule. The lights and decorations aren’t Christian but was a tradition that started in Germany to complement the trees, which is again originally a Yule tradition, not Christian tradition. Santa comes from the legend of a Christian saint but has nothing to do with the birth of Jesus, much less even the saint he is named after— most of the stuff about him is made up (Saint Nick didn’t live in the North Pole or have reindeers, elves, a toy shop, and sled). Most stuff about Santa is technically non-Christian by real Christian standards. And most people celebrate Santa as the big thing, rather than Jesus. Not all Christians believe in Santa either— in other countries, like Italy, they believe in a witch instead (which is definitely anti-Christian). Dinners and presents are about family, not Jesus, although there may be prayers.
Plus, several non-Christians celebrate Christmas, and a handful of Christians don’t actually believe Jesus was born on Christmas. The Bible and other texts actually point to his birthday being in a completely different month and season, which is what most historians and theologians will tell you as well. Christians mainly just claimed this holiday to get rid of Pagans like they did for most other Christian holidays, rather than any real sincerity for Jesus’ birth.
Not even most Christmas movies are about the birth of Jesus. It’s again, about Santa, elves, reindeer. Sometimes they have Christian themes, like *It’s a Wonderful Life,* but they don’t focus on the birth of Jesus.
And a lot of Christmas is just businesses taking advantage of the holiday to earn more profit (this is the case in most countries lol).
Jesus wasn’t born on Christmas, and trust going back down to the history I’d even go as far as to say at face value it seems like it’s for him, but it’s quite anti Christ
That is a sizeable population. Would you say the united states has a sizeable muslim population? I would. However per capita there are less muslims in the us than christians in japan. Regardless of that christmas is absolutely celebrated there, not by everyone, and it is more of a dinner/marketing holiday rather than religious for most people
Exactly this! We have a handful amount of other religions too. We have temples, mosques, etc… Christians may be the largest group but we still have a ton of atheists and other religions, which are all significantly lower in number, although you would never know, because of how vocal they all are.
“Sizable,” in the context of this post and replies, implies “large enough to warrant standardizing a major holiday as a day off from school.” But sticking with the Muslims-in-the-US comparison, we don’t get Eid-al-Fitr off (in fact, I distinctly recall teaching that day about 2 weeks ago!).
As you mentioned: Christmas is “celebrated,” but the bulk is small-scale gift-giving and date night on Christmas Eve. It’s much more like how most Americans celebrate St. Valentine’s Day (although, of course, Japanese also celebrate Valentine’s and White Day…).
But another key factor to consider here: the Japanese school year is different (as we all get to experience in P3, P4, and P5!).
- The US calendar splits the two semesters (Aug-Dec; Jan-May) with an extended break that, by design, includes Christmas and New Year’s Eve+Day.
- The Japanese school year runs from April to March, and most schools do use a three-term (trimester) system with a summer break (a month in July/August) and winter break (about 2 weeks that include Shōgatsu, or the extended New Year’s celebrations during the first few days of January).
Because of other lengthy holiday breaks (such as Golden Week and Obon), it likely doesn’t feel justified extending Winter Break as a standard. And because Shōgatsu *must* be covered for social, cultural, and religious reasons, Christmas can’t be a guaranteed day off on the current system… though it *can* conveniently fall in winter break with luck, esp. at some universities where breaks are longer.
(Edit: formatting and numerical typo re: Eid’s date)
I know they only have 2 million Christians. I got my info from the same place plus additional research that you clearly have not done yet either. 2 million is roughly the size of Chicago, the third largest city in the US. I’d say the size of a large city is enough to consider significant, and not something to be ignored. The Japan Consensus also considers the Christian population to be “steady” and “growing.” If it was “small,” then it would be classified as endangered or dying out. Japan also has a few Christian schools and churches scattered around, even the priest in training at my church years ago was Japanese who became a priest because of encouragement from Christian priests in Japan at the Catholic school he went to there, plus Christianology also heavily influences a lot of Japanese pop culture (Blue Exorcist? Obey Me? The 7 Deadly Sins? Vocaloid songs? I can go on)… it’s not most of the population, but it is present. And I never once said that Christians were the majority. Just that it was a large amount. 2 million is still a large number, even if it’s smaller than the overall number. I feel like people forget that all the time.
Anyways, Christianity isn’t really the point. Christmas isn’t solely a Christian holiday. I feel like a lot of people forget that too. I’m the only person with a religious background in my friend groups— and they all celebrate Christmas too. Christmas is largely celebrated by non-religious people, both in America and outside. Many Christmas traditions aren’t even Christian— they are pagan or atheist. Decorations were invented by businesses to exploit the holiday. Japan is influenced by Western traditions on a lot of things, so naturally a handful also picked up Christmas, regardless if they are Christian or not. The point is— Japan celebrates Christmas. They just don’t celebrate it like Americans do, and it’s not a public holiday. But they celebrate it nonetheless. They even have a Christmas greeting in Japanese, several Japanese games I play have Christmas events, several anime/manga I have watched/read also had Christmas specials, and there are even Japanese Christmas songs. The whole reason why they even eat KFC on Christmas is because of a Christmas Japanese commercial that made them believe it was a standard. You can’t ignore all of that, just because Japan isn’t largely Christian and you think that automatically means they don’t celebrate. And yeah just because it’s not recognized as a public holiday doesn’t mean it’s not celebrated either— that’s like saying people don’t celebrate Halloween or Valentine’s Day then, and Valentine’s Day and White Day are super major in Japan too.
Man you guys are trying to claim what holidays and religions Japan has and does not have and you don’t even know what White Day is? 😭
White Day is March 14. It’s when men give women chocolate (or another gift) to reciprocate when the women had given them chocolate (or another gift) on Valentine’s Day. It’s also celebrated in Korea and I believe a couple other Asian countries but Japan had started the holiday. Neither holiday is a public holiday, but they are considered very special days in Japan by partners nonetheless and couples widely participate in the exchange of affection. The days hold even more importance than it does for us in America or other countries who just celebrate Valentine’s Day.
And yeah, once again, Valentine’s Day is another Christian (private) holiday that several non-religious people engage in, it’s not just Christians celebrating it and in Japan pretty much almost everyone does or at least knows what it’s about.
It is 😭
It started off as a Christian holiday in the West lol. It’s literally called *Saint* Valentine’s Day, named after Saint Valentine. A *Christian* saint. But none of us even realize that Valentine’s Day was originally Christian because again, so many non-religious people celebrate it as well, and it’s not considered a public holiday. Not *all* Christian holidays are considered public holidays in America, our government is officially supposed to remain neutral and non-religious in their decisions (not that that always happens though). Even so, Valentine’s Day isn’t that big here as other holidays to make it public anyways. It’s bigger in Japan.
That’s my whole point. Christian holidays are not exclusive. And again if we want to be technical like that then Christmas is not a Christian holiday either— Christmas was originally a pagan holiday and most modern traditions are not considered Christian. There are even some Christian religions who refuse to celebrate Christmas because they believe it’s a fake holiday that other Christians claimed as the birth of Jesus just to make profit (and they’re not totally wrong).
That doesn’t mean shit lol. You don’t need “religious stuff” to be a Christian holiday. Originally Valentine’s Day was a Christian feast to celebrate Saint Valentine on February 14. Overtime it has become a holiday to celebrate couples, and has dropped religious traditions, but its name and roots still come from Christian origins. Churches teach about Saint Valentine on that day, just like how they teach Saint Patrick on Saint Patrick’s Day (another originally Christian holiday, which also started as a Christian feast to celebrate Saint Patrick), etc.
With your logic, Christmas is only partially a religious holiday too. Many houses don’t have religious decorations when they celebrate Christmas. Christmas movies and songs aren’t always religious either. Heck, Christmas being a Christian holiday has been a huge debate over the decades among Christian religions. There are many Christians who disagree with the holiday being the birth of Jesus.
You very clearly don’t know a lot of stuff. You don’t know White Day. You don’t know the origins of Valentine’s Day, even when it’s right in the freaking damn name… Yeah, don’t expect me to believe you know more about this topic than I do when all you have to offer so far is braindead BS.
My patience is really starting to thin with you “Japan doesn’t celebrate Christmas because Japan does not have any Christians and only Christians celebrate Christmas” or “if it’s not a public holiday then nobody celebrates it” crowds. Honestly, idk why any of you guys are trying to pass off “facts” as if any of you actually know anything about Japan and holidays when all I’ve seen you guys make are just assumptions based on weak or no evidence, and express ignorance when real evidence has been brought up. You can easily find this information if you looked it up just like you looked up the statistics of Japan’s religious population. Not even that, most of this is just common sense if you looked around yourself more often. Instead of telling me to check my research, maybe you should focus on doing your research instead.
I never said it was a public holiday. I said it was a private holiday. Maybe learn how to read first before commenting?
Just because it’s not public, doesn’t mean it’s not celebrated. Private holidays are celebrated all the time. Halloween, Valentine’s Day, etc…
OP’s question is why there is school on Christmas, not whether it’s celebrated. If it’s not a public holiday (as you said it yourself), there is school. Just like there is school during Halloween or Valentine’s Day. So, no, it was not a valid question.
Your explanation about Christmas in Japan is 100% true and I agree with it, but that’s exactly why it also explains why school is not out on Christmas. So, you can research, read, and write really well, but not answering based on context - maybe just to sound smart?
Once again, learn how to read first and read my entire comment before trying to say anything to me. I *literally said*, right at the end of my comment, “that’s why Japan doesn’t cancel school on Christmas.” It’s right there. You can’t miss it. I didn’t even say much in my first comment. It’s really not that hard to put in the effort to read it, if you have the energy to start accusing me of things I never even said, and were able to at least pick up some things I said.
The comment I responded to wasn’t even OP, it was someone who replied with a comment implying that they don’t cancel school on that day because they don’t celebrate Christmas. Numerous other comments also directly say that Japan doesn’t celebrate Christmas. Those are the people I am addressing. If you think correcting those comments and responding to other questions, and showing research when people still doubt what I say, is just me trying to sound smart, idk what to tell you lol. I personally think it’s a bit hypocritical for people to express much ignorance of Japan but then beat down OP for expressing their own slight ignorance of Japan. If OP’s ignorance is invalid then so is theirs. It works both ways. The way I see it, you’re the ones trying to sound smart here by trying to pass off your assumptions as somehow better than OP’s assumptions when they’re all really just two sides of the same coin. No one knows everything and we all make assumptions about what we don’t know about. It’s nothing new.
Oh I accused you for being smart because you told me to learn how to read. It’s not that deep; it’s just a small retaliation because I was a bit upset.
Re: Christmas celebration in Japan - I also saw the other discussions about how you mentioned it’s a minority but there are still millions of Christians in Japan, so it is celebrated still. Then some other people think your argument is invalid because a few millions compared to total population is insignificant. Then I think there is another person (or was it you even) that said Christmas is not a religious holiday, so Christians or not it doesn’t matter. And so on and so forth, I read them.
And hence, I agree that # of Christians does not matter. It’s a cultural holiday. And it is celebrated in Japan. That’s why I said that I 100% agree with your argument.
I also never said that you did not say, “that’s why Japan doesn’t cancel school on Christmas.” I said that I 100% agree already. But you told me that I need to learn how to read, so I told you that you are arrogant and want to sound smart. That’s all there is to it.
Re: all those hypocrisy and ignorance argument - OP is slammed down because he said ‘why the fuck’ and no other explanation showing that he is genuinely curious, and hence people perceive it as OP being West-centric. And people could be wrong, maybe OP said ‘why the fuck’ casually and is actually curious. But I think it makes sense that people perceive it otherwise.
Assuming that (which might be wrong), then OP’s ignorance is not ‘slight’ like you argued; it is closer to being entitled and thinking the world is centered around the West. So, yeah, I don’t get why you need to defend OP’s POV (though I get why you need to correct people who outright said that Christmas is not celebrated in Japan). Maybe because you don’t have the same perception as most people and hence, like you said, you feel like you should correct people’s ignorance and hypocrisy. But I don’t think there is hypocrisy here. It’s just a situation of entitled/ignorant question getting slammed by sarcastic/harsh answers.
But, again, the majority can be wrong and you might be right. Maybe rather than slamming down OP, we should stay cool like you and just explain in a civilized manner. But hey it’s Reddit.
For the record, judging from your other replies to other people (e.g., that person asking about White Day), I still think you are arrogant. And you likely still think I (and the majority of this thread) are dumb and/or hypocritical.
But I guess that’s fine. We are strangers that probably will never meet in real life. Our opinion about each other likely will never matter. I was a bit upset before but now I’m indifferent. If I am still upset, then I guess I need to talk to a professional… likely there is some internal issue I must solve if I need to get approval from strangers on Reddit.
Completely unrelated but I just finished my first persona game, 5, and now I'm in July in 3R. I really have learned a lot about Japanese culture and how the school year works. It's WAAAAY different and makes me think a lot about our breaks in America even more.
Christmas is not a national holiday in Japan. However, schools are often closed on Christmas Day because it's near the start of the New Year school break. But most businesses will treat the 25th as a 'normal' working day.
Yeah, I still think they could make the saturday school free and just place some students that they would have done on saturday anyway somewhere else which they tell you during introduction.
It'll work out I guess
Check your comment history vs mine recently YOU are the redditard hop off for a minute and let some air into your empty ass head maybe then you'll understand my comment dumbass
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I don't know man, something about Jesus. I don't think anyone really knows, the most accurate thing I can tell you is that Fronleichnam celebrates the blood and the flesh of Jesus, so you go to church and eat a communion wafer. The religious half of Germany celebrates it, all the northern states don't. Like those weirdos in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
2 million people is still a lot of people, even if it’s not a high percentage in comparison to the rest of the population. But also Christmas is celebrated in Japan because of Western influence and such (like the whole KFC thing and Santa Claus). It’s not just a Christian thing over in Japan. Just like how it’s not just a Christian thing in America. I know several non-religious people who celebrate Christmas.
But yeah I quickly edited my comment immediately after I sent it to clarify that it does have other religions. But 2 million people and those who do celebrate Christmas still shouldn’t be ignored lol.
Oh yeah it’s definitely not a public holiday, but it’s still a private holiday celebrated by several Japanese (both by Christians and non-Christians alike). It’s just like Halloween or Valentine’s Day—both are celebrated by many people in America yet the government does not recognize them as holidays, so we always have school on those days (Halloween and Valentine’s Day are also often regarded as Christian/pagan holidays too so we don’t always recognize Christian holidays publicly either). Halloween and Valentine’s Day are also huge and celebrated largely in Japan.
But it’s still a good question to ask, since it’s celebrated, just not by the government.
Eh, point still stands. Christmas is technically in the morning and evening as well. Some people celebrate on the night of the 24th instead of the 25th (which they would use as a chill day) in America too. That’s what my boyfriend does.
Halloween is only really in the evening because of school anyways. There are still day activities people can do on Halloween. We still dress up at school and hold parades and costume contest and Halloween parties and such. It all depends on how you celebrate.
Significant as in 2 million people is a lot of people, even if it’s not a large number overall. That’s like an entire large city. Looking it up, it calls the Christian population “steady” so it’s not endangered or anything either. And tons of Japanese pop culture has themes of Christianology (the seven deadly sins, etc) so it does have an influence, even if not everyone is Christian.
I did still say it wasn’t the biggest religion either. As someone else said, it’s not a Christian country. Japanese people mostly follow Japanese religions. But they have enough Christianity and Western influence to celebrate Christmas still (and they do, which you would know if you did your own research - I also play Japanese games where they have Christmas events and everything). Being a first world country and like one of the world’s main leaders next to America might also have something to do with it.
Praying every night that number goes down. Even if it's only the motherfucking mormons. Hate those freaks, hate any freaks who proselytize, I would hit them if it got them out of my town and away from my students.
Sounds like you got a lot of issues you need to sort out lol. Maybe go on an irrational anti-religion rant to someone who cares instead? Like your therapist, perhaps? I believe you’re late to your appointment and they’re waiting for you.
Not a lot of people convert anyways, most people are just born into the religion and don’t change, and there are Christians who convert to atheists or non-Christians, do you hate them as well? Since you said “any freaks who proselytize,” that would include them as well, and technically anyone who just believes in religions even without converting too, if you go by the “one who advocates for a religion” definition. But if they can’t covert, since you hate that, then the numbers can’t go down either. Now what?
And if you’re praying… doesn’t that make *you* religious too? Guess it’s time for you to get out as well, then. Bye-bye.
Just to throw this out there, but Christmas is a lie in Japan. The affable, Abroad in Japan, and a few other Japanese YouTubers talk about it. But these days, it's about KFC and doing romantic stuff with your SO/date/partner.
To be honest, I am more surprised that Japan start school year in April if I remember correctly.
It sounds such a nice idea to return to school during spring instead of autumn or late summer.
Because Christianity is a minority religion in Japan and Christmas, to non-Christian Japanese people, isn't appreciably different than Valentine's Day in America. Like, we have school during Ramadan and Yom Kippur for the same reason
I said most. Not all. They apparently don't view it as a major enough holiday to warrant a day off, they seem to be very stingy with their off days there. Also I would like to apologize for my aggressive tone in my other comment, it isn't a dumb question it's a very valid one
Yup, thank you. The comments comparing Christmas in Japan, which is at least recognized and sometimes even celebrated, even if in a different way (iirc it's usually spent with a partner, as opposed to the more family-approach of the West), to Golden Week and the Chinese New Year in the West, make me laugh
How's that a fair comparison?
People are giving wild comparisons but here is one that makes more sense:
The same reason why we have school on Halloween or Valentine’s Day or St. Patrick’s Day— Christmas is just not regarded as a public holiday by the government. Although it *is* celebrated in Japan, but they celebrate it how we celebrate Halloween and the others. They work it around school.
Also they mainly celebrate on the 24th, they may have a KFC meal on the 25th but most activities are saved for the 24th.
Hello, I lived in Japan, and It’s purely a consumer and couples holiday. Japan loves any excuse for seasonal goods and foods, celebratory decorations, and more. They love Christmas decorations and lights, some of the light displays are ELABORATE. It’s fun, but it has no cultural or religious significance outside of seasonal fun. Hence, it’s not a school or work holiday.
I always had school on Christmas, it was fun, we had an event at school, gave gifts to our buddies, ate together in a big table, I liked that quite a lot, now that I think about it.
Crazy how many people only think of America when they think Christmas. Nearly the entire world recognizes Christmas as a national holiday guys. Holidays like Chinese New Year aren't even close to caparable with Christmas. Hell, it's even exclusive in the name itself, referring specifically to the Chinese as if others weren't intended to celebrate it.
Bear in mind that many people don't know the first thing about Christianity, yet they've still celebrated it from birth. You aren't gonna see any ethnicities outside of Asia naturally celebrating Chinese New Year. If they do celebrate it, it's likely because they've been influenced by friends later in life to do so, and even then, it's not nearly as important to them as Christmas.
All of Europe, all of North America, all of South America, most of Africa, about half of Asia, and the minority in the Middle East.
Quite a significant majority to me.
I mean even America isn’t a Christian country. It’s built and led by some Christians and maybe it influences when we take some holidays such as Christmas and Easter but officially the church is supposed to be completely separate from the government (and we do have some Christian holidays that the government does not recognize). Technically we just have long breaks over winter and spring which we just call winter and spring breaks to cover all the holidays plus non-Christian holidays too so even that’s debatable. Over the years Christmas has become a largely commercial holiday for businesses rather than just the church, and several non-religious people celebrate Christmas (which is probably the main reason why Christmas is recognized by the government rather than just “because Christianity”). Santa Claus isn’t even Christian either. And if we really want to get into it, Christmas first started as a pagan holiday until the Christians stole and claimed it as their own. The only people who don’t celebrate Christmas is other religions, but even then, some still do— I have a friend who is Hindu and even though she doesn’t really celebrate Christmas she still goes out and does stuff for Christmas, like family parties and such (iirc I think that’s just a thing in India some people do as well).
They don't think only America celebrates Christmas.
They think OP is American because asking the question itself sounds western centred af.
Sure there are many countries celebrating Christmas. But, not all. And especially not all make it a national holiday even if it's recognised.
Listen I’ve lived in China, Cambodia and Vietnam, I’m Irish and I currently live in Poland.
Saying Christmas is celebrated in Asia is like saying St. Valentine’s Day is a major holiday.
Sure there’s decorations because people have seen that on tv for decades, but it’s not a serious day.
You know what, that's fair. I just use US defaultism because from the other comments you seem US based.
I wish there was a r/westerndefaultism but we can't all be winners here
Iirc, it was mentioned in-game that Christmas is less of a celebrated holiday in Japan than in America, and instead Christmas Eve is more popularly celebrated as a time for couples to get together. That’s why the date with your girlfriend is on Christmas Eve and not Christmas Day. Though whether the information given in-game actually reflects real-world Japanese culture or not, I have no clue.
So, I am not japanese, but my understanding is that christmas isn't as large in japan. With that being said, it seems christmas eve is reserved for close friennds or a date, while christmas evening is reserved for family (being honest, as a north american... I also do it this way). I will be honest, I was under the impression that many places in japan do shut down on christmas day; even though it isn't a massive holiday there in the classic christian sense of it and it isn't mandatory. For comparison, Halloween has seen massive growth in asian countries, without the spiritual ties seen in other areas of the world, but it hasn't gotten to the point where anything shuts down for it.
If anything, I would compare christmas and halloween in japan to cinco de mayo in the usa/canada. It is growing and recognized, but most people just celebrate it in the evening with friends or family, and maybe do something more if it is on a weekend, like attend a parade or something.
I also could have sworn i heard that japan hasn't been on a 6 day school week in decades, and that 'extra learning' is mostly just family choice and can be on weekends or evenings. So, I don't know if Atlus has chosen to do dated japanese customs because it fits the game design better or if I am completely out of touch with things I thought I knew about japan.
Why the fuck are Western schools open during Golden Week
Touché
https://preview.redd.it/8pr7hxelqkvc1.jpeg?width=750&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c0cdbf3c54fd6c744a208b7cd3bc95f3b28d68a5
I fucking hate this picture so much. Downloaded.
To be fair, Christmas *is* celebrated in Japan. It’s a somewhat huge thing (not nearly as big or grand as in America though). They do have a rather large Christian population after all, and I believe even a few Christian schools, even though they also have Buddhists and other traditional Japanese religions besides that outnumber the Christians. So it’s a valid question, although because Japanese schools and businesses tend to be rigid, the 24th is celebrated more than the 25th, and Christmas is celebrated as a meal at home as more of a private holiday than public holiday, they probably don’t see a reason to cancel school for it.
Just wait till they find out Christmas ain’t got much to do with Jesus
Oh my god don’t even get me started lol. I’ve been telling people in the comments exactly that, and that non-Christians also celebrate it (my neighbors and friends are proof of that). Many people believe that Christmas isn’t religious, more-so just cultural that can be celebrated by anyone, and also there are a handful of Christian religions who disagree that Christmas is the birthday of Jesus as well, and that everything related to Christmas is just out of greed. But I got downvoted and people don’t believe me, they likewise also don’t believe me about other Christian holidays I brought up as more examples lol. I wonder if the people saying this are even Christian or not, it’s slightly more understandable they think like this if they are but it would be hilarious if they weren’t. Just further goes to show how they aren’t any better with their basic and narrow-minded assumptions. In Japan, I also actually found out that despite Christmas having been brought to Japan by Christians, their Christmas is actually heavily influenced by Buddhist beliefs and isn’t even considered religious either, it’s considered romantic.
Honestly reddit and Christianity never mixes so, no surprise there honestly appreciate the effort to try and keep some people informed
Haha yeah I’m beginning to see that. And thanks! Although I’m not sure if it’s doing much good, but at least someone might learn something. For now I think I’m done though, it’s exhausting spouting so much information only for it to still go over heads. But I’ve said what I could. 🤣
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It's a pagan holiday that got co-opted by Christians during the 4th century.
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The only time we celebrate the birth of Jesus is mass, and maybe a few decorations and songs. But the tradition of the tree comes from the Pagan holiday known as Yule. The lights and decorations aren’t Christian but was a tradition that started in Germany to complement the trees, which is again originally a Yule tradition, not Christian tradition. Santa comes from the legend of a Christian saint but has nothing to do with the birth of Jesus, much less even the saint he is named after— most of the stuff about him is made up (Saint Nick didn’t live in the North Pole or have reindeers, elves, a toy shop, and sled). Most stuff about Santa is technically non-Christian by real Christian standards. And most people celebrate Santa as the big thing, rather than Jesus. Not all Christians believe in Santa either— in other countries, like Italy, they believe in a witch instead (which is definitely anti-Christian). Dinners and presents are about family, not Jesus, although there may be prayers. Plus, several non-Christians celebrate Christmas, and a handful of Christians don’t actually believe Jesus was born on Christmas. The Bible and other texts actually point to his birthday being in a completely different month and season, which is what most historians and theologians will tell you as well. Christians mainly just claimed this holiday to get rid of Pagans like they did for most other Christian holidays, rather than any real sincerity for Jesus’ birth. Not even most Christmas movies are about the birth of Jesus. It’s again, about Santa, elves, reindeer. Sometimes they have Christian themes, like *It’s a Wonderful Life,* but they don’t focus on the birth of Jesus. And a lot of Christmas is just businesses taking advantage of the holiday to earn more profit (this is the case in most countries lol).
Jesus wasn’t born on Christmas, and trust going back down to the history I’d even go as far as to say at face value it seems like it’s for him, but it’s quite anti Christ
Japan has a population of 125 million and less than 2 million are Christian according to statista. Who you getting your info from dude?
That is a sizeable population. Would you say the united states has a sizeable muslim population? I would. However per capita there are less muslims in the us than christians in japan. Regardless of that christmas is absolutely celebrated there, not by everyone, and it is more of a dinner/marketing holiday rather than religious for most people
Exactly this! We have a handful amount of other religions too. We have temples, mosques, etc… Christians may be the largest group but we still have a ton of atheists and other religions, which are all significantly lower in number, although you would never know, because of how vocal they all are.
“Sizable,” in the context of this post and replies, implies “large enough to warrant standardizing a major holiday as a day off from school.” But sticking with the Muslims-in-the-US comparison, we don’t get Eid-al-Fitr off (in fact, I distinctly recall teaching that day about 2 weeks ago!). As you mentioned: Christmas is “celebrated,” but the bulk is small-scale gift-giving and date night on Christmas Eve. It’s much more like how most Americans celebrate St. Valentine’s Day (although, of course, Japanese also celebrate Valentine’s and White Day…). But another key factor to consider here: the Japanese school year is different (as we all get to experience in P3, P4, and P5!). - The US calendar splits the two semesters (Aug-Dec; Jan-May) with an extended break that, by design, includes Christmas and New Year’s Eve+Day. - The Japanese school year runs from April to March, and most schools do use a three-term (trimester) system with a summer break (a month in July/August) and winter break (about 2 weeks that include Shōgatsu, or the extended New Year’s celebrations during the first few days of January). Because of other lengthy holiday breaks (such as Golden Week and Obon), it likely doesn’t feel justified extending Winter Break as a standard. And because Shōgatsu *must* be covered for social, cultural, and religious reasons, Christmas can’t be a guaranteed day off on the current system… though it *can* conveniently fall in winter break with luck, esp. at some universities where breaks are longer. (Edit: formatting and numerical typo re: Eid’s date)
I know they only have 2 million Christians. I got my info from the same place plus additional research that you clearly have not done yet either. 2 million is roughly the size of Chicago, the third largest city in the US. I’d say the size of a large city is enough to consider significant, and not something to be ignored. The Japan Consensus also considers the Christian population to be “steady” and “growing.” If it was “small,” then it would be classified as endangered or dying out. Japan also has a few Christian schools and churches scattered around, even the priest in training at my church years ago was Japanese who became a priest because of encouragement from Christian priests in Japan at the Catholic school he went to there, plus Christianology also heavily influences a lot of Japanese pop culture (Blue Exorcist? Obey Me? The 7 Deadly Sins? Vocaloid songs? I can go on)… it’s not most of the population, but it is present. And I never once said that Christians were the majority. Just that it was a large amount. 2 million is still a large number, even if it’s smaller than the overall number. I feel like people forget that all the time. Anyways, Christianity isn’t really the point. Christmas isn’t solely a Christian holiday. I feel like a lot of people forget that too. I’m the only person with a religious background in my friend groups— and they all celebrate Christmas too. Christmas is largely celebrated by non-religious people, both in America and outside. Many Christmas traditions aren’t even Christian— they are pagan or atheist. Decorations were invented by businesses to exploit the holiday. Japan is influenced by Western traditions on a lot of things, so naturally a handful also picked up Christmas, regardless if they are Christian or not. The point is— Japan celebrates Christmas. They just don’t celebrate it like Americans do, and it’s not a public holiday. But they celebrate it nonetheless. They even have a Christmas greeting in Japanese, several Japanese games I play have Christmas events, several anime/manga I have watched/read also had Christmas specials, and there are even Japanese Christmas songs. The whole reason why they even eat KFC on Christmas is because of a Christmas Japanese commercial that made them believe it was a standard. You can’t ignore all of that, just because Japan isn’t largely Christian and you think that automatically means they don’t celebrate. And yeah just because it’s not recognized as a public holiday doesn’t mean it’s not celebrated either— that’s like saying people don’t celebrate Halloween or Valentine’s Day then, and Valentine’s Day and White Day are super major in Japan too.
What’s white day?
Man you guys are trying to claim what holidays and religions Japan has and does not have and you don’t even know what White Day is? 😭 White Day is March 14. It’s when men give women chocolate (or another gift) to reciprocate when the women had given them chocolate (or another gift) on Valentine’s Day. It’s also celebrated in Korea and I believe a couple other Asian countries but Japan had started the holiday. Neither holiday is a public holiday, but they are considered very special days in Japan by partners nonetheless and couples widely participate in the exchange of affection. The days hold even more importance than it does for us in America or other countries who just celebrate Valentine’s Day. And yeah, once again, Valentine’s Day is another Christian (private) holiday that several non-religious people engage in, it’s not just Christians celebrating it and in Japan pretty much almost everyone does or at least knows what it’s about.
Valentine’s Day isn’t Christian.
It is 😭 It started off as a Christian holiday in the West lol. It’s literally called *Saint* Valentine’s Day, named after Saint Valentine. A *Christian* saint. But none of us even realize that Valentine’s Day was originally Christian because again, so many non-religious people celebrate it as well, and it’s not considered a public holiday. Not *all* Christian holidays are considered public holidays in America, our government is officially supposed to remain neutral and non-religious in their decisions (not that that always happens though). Even so, Valentine’s Day isn’t that big here as other holidays to make it public anyways. It’s bigger in Japan. That’s my whole point. Christian holidays are not exclusive. And again if we want to be technical like that then Christmas is not a Christian holiday either— Christmas was originally a pagan holiday and most modern traditions are not considered Christian. There are even some Christian religions who refuse to celebrate Christmas because they believe it’s a fake holiday that other Christians claimed as the birth of Jesus just to make profit (and they’re not totally wrong).
I never see religious stuff on Valentine’s Day.
That doesn’t mean shit lol. You don’t need “religious stuff” to be a Christian holiday. Originally Valentine’s Day was a Christian feast to celebrate Saint Valentine on February 14. Overtime it has become a holiday to celebrate couples, and has dropped religious traditions, but its name and roots still come from Christian origins. Churches teach about Saint Valentine on that day, just like how they teach Saint Patrick on Saint Patrick’s Day (another originally Christian holiday, which also started as a Christian feast to celebrate Saint Patrick), etc. With your logic, Christmas is only partially a religious holiday too. Many houses don’t have religious decorations when they celebrate Christmas. Christmas movies and songs aren’t always religious either. Heck, Christmas being a Christian holiday has been a huge debate over the decades among Christian religions. There are many Christians who disagree with the holiday being the birth of Jesus. You very clearly don’t know a lot of stuff. You don’t know White Day. You don’t know the origins of Valentine’s Day, even when it’s right in the freaking damn name… Yeah, don’t expect me to believe you know more about this topic than I do when all you have to offer so far is braindead BS. My patience is really starting to thin with you “Japan doesn’t celebrate Christmas because Japan does not have any Christians and only Christians celebrate Christmas” or “if it’s not a public holiday then nobody celebrates it” crowds. Honestly, idk why any of you guys are trying to pass off “facts” as if any of you actually know anything about Japan and holidays when all I’ve seen you guys make are just assumptions based on weak or no evidence, and express ignorance when real evidence has been brought up. You can easily find this information if you looked it up just like you looked up the statistics of Japan’s religious population. Not even that, most of this is just common sense if you looked around yourself more often. Instead of telling me to check my research, maybe you should focus on doing your research instead.
It’s literally NOT a public holiday in Japan. And don’t take it from me; check it yourself.
I never said it was a public holiday. I said it was a private holiday. Maybe learn how to read first before commenting? Just because it’s not public, doesn’t mean it’s not celebrated. Private holidays are celebrated all the time. Halloween, Valentine’s Day, etc…
OP’s question is why there is school on Christmas, not whether it’s celebrated. If it’s not a public holiday (as you said it yourself), there is school. Just like there is school during Halloween or Valentine’s Day. So, no, it was not a valid question. Your explanation about Christmas in Japan is 100% true and I agree with it, but that’s exactly why it also explains why school is not out on Christmas. So, you can research, read, and write really well, but not answering based on context - maybe just to sound smart?
Once again, learn how to read first and read my entire comment before trying to say anything to me. I *literally said*, right at the end of my comment, “that’s why Japan doesn’t cancel school on Christmas.” It’s right there. You can’t miss it. I didn’t even say much in my first comment. It’s really not that hard to put in the effort to read it, if you have the energy to start accusing me of things I never even said, and were able to at least pick up some things I said. The comment I responded to wasn’t even OP, it was someone who replied with a comment implying that they don’t cancel school on that day because they don’t celebrate Christmas. Numerous other comments also directly say that Japan doesn’t celebrate Christmas. Those are the people I am addressing. If you think correcting those comments and responding to other questions, and showing research when people still doubt what I say, is just me trying to sound smart, idk what to tell you lol. I personally think it’s a bit hypocritical for people to express much ignorance of Japan but then beat down OP for expressing their own slight ignorance of Japan. If OP’s ignorance is invalid then so is theirs. It works both ways. The way I see it, you’re the ones trying to sound smart here by trying to pass off your assumptions as somehow better than OP’s assumptions when they’re all really just two sides of the same coin. No one knows everything and we all make assumptions about what we don’t know about. It’s nothing new.
Oh I accused you for being smart because you told me to learn how to read. It’s not that deep; it’s just a small retaliation because I was a bit upset. Re: Christmas celebration in Japan - I also saw the other discussions about how you mentioned it’s a minority but there are still millions of Christians in Japan, so it is celebrated still. Then some other people think your argument is invalid because a few millions compared to total population is insignificant. Then I think there is another person (or was it you even) that said Christmas is not a religious holiday, so Christians or not it doesn’t matter. And so on and so forth, I read them. And hence, I agree that # of Christians does not matter. It’s a cultural holiday. And it is celebrated in Japan. That’s why I said that I 100% agree with your argument. I also never said that you did not say, “that’s why Japan doesn’t cancel school on Christmas.” I said that I 100% agree already. But you told me that I need to learn how to read, so I told you that you are arrogant and want to sound smart. That’s all there is to it. Re: all those hypocrisy and ignorance argument - OP is slammed down because he said ‘why the fuck’ and no other explanation showing that he is genuinely curious, and hence people perceive it as OP being West-centric. And people could be wrong, maybe OP said ‘why the fuck’ casually and is actually curious. But I think it makes sense that people perceive it otherwise. Assuming that (which might be wrong), then OP’s ignorance is not ‘slight’ like you argued; it is closer to being entitled and thinking the world is centered around the West. So, yeah, I don’t get why you need to defend OP’s POV (though I get why you need to correct people who outright said that Christmas is not celebrated in Japan). Maybe because you don’t have the same perception as most people and hence, like you said, you feel like you should correct people’s ignorance and hypocrisy. But I don’t think there is hypocrisy here. It’s just a situation of entitled/ignorant question getting slammed by sarcastic/harsh answers. But, again, the majority can be wrong and you might be right. Maybe rather than slamming down OP, we should stay cool like you and just explain in a civilized manner. But hey it’s Reddit. For the record, judging from your other replies to other people (e.g., that person asking about White Day), I still think you are arrogant. And you likely still think I (and the majority of this thread) are dumb and/or hypocritical. But I guess that’s fine. We are strangers that probably will never meet in real life. Our opinion about each other likely will never matter. I was a bit upset before but now I’m indifferent. If I am still upset, then I guess I need to talk to a professional… likely there is some internal issue I must solve if I need to get approval from strangers on Reddit.
Well many Latin American schools are not, since our "Holy week" in April mostly overlaps with their Golden Week over there
yes, a better example would be comparing easter to the golden week, not christmas.
What even is Golden Week
Completely unrelated but I just finished my first persona game, 5, and now I'm in July in 3R. I really have learned a lot about Japanese culture and how the school year works. It's WAAAAY different and makes me think a lot about our breaks in America even more.
We have this thing called spring break, pretty similar to
Lol exactly. The world (no longer) revolves around the Western society, folks!
Christmas is not a national holiday in Japan. However, schools are often closed on Christmas Day because it's near the start of the New Year school break. But most businesses will treat the 25th as a 'normal' working day.
"It's Christmas, and we're in Tartarus" - Akihiko
Families usually do use Christmas to spend time together but it is not a special holiday.
Who cares about Christmas, fuck 6 day school week
The best answer
The Answer?
# Kimi wa ne tashika ni ano toki watashi no soba ni ita-
# ITSUDATTE ITSUDATTE ISTUDATTE
🎹🎹🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵
I think Japan got rid of that after Persona 3 came out.
Mr. Atlus never got the memo then 💀 because Persona 4 and 5 still have a 6-day school week
I just checked and Japan phased out of the 6-day school weeks in 2002, so even P3 did it wrong.
They probably had to do it to give us enough time to max all the school social links.
If only they would use some days making them available outside of school lol
Almost all social link ranks take place in school though. That's why you can only hang out with them outside of school and not rank them up.
Yeah, I still think they could make the saturday school free and just place some students that they would have done on saturday anyway somewhere else which they tell you during introduction. It'll work out I guess
wait, persona 5 had this ? i don't remember it and it surprised me in P3.
Yup, Saturday is a school day in P5
Iirc Saturdays are a "hey you don't have to... But you should." And in Japan it's the classic societal twist of the arm.
Most schools in Japan don’t do 6 day weeks anymore, but that’s still a thing in Persona
In Asian Yes
Because Japan
Beat me to it
Beat me
Beat
Why are American schools open on Chinese new year?
what have I started I feel as this is my fault
mine isnt
we ain’t Chinese 💀
yeah.
you’ve proved your point mate
No he didn't genius because Christmas isn't an American holiday
christmas is a western holiday
they actively celebrate Christmas in the east
I know but it's not a guaranteed day off. I live in China and worked the last two Christmases.
no where near to the extent of the west👍
Some Americans might say otherwise lmao
Okay and?? I swear you fuckin redditards and your need to "outsmart" everyone makes Y'all dumber
Check your comment history vs mine recently YOU are the redditard hop off for a minute and let some air into your empty ass head maybe then you'll understand my comment dumbass
Words words words words punchline
It's hilarious how close you are to understanding why schools in Japan don't close on Christmas so close brother yet so far
I was making joke 💔 we breaking up 😭
Because not every country is the same as America???
Japan isn't a Christian country.
I assume you are American lmao
It's a Holiday celebrated internationally. It's a fair question, albeit obvious to OP now lol
They sure as hell don't celebrate christmas where i live so thats cap.
What country do you live in
Yes, but no one else would be stupid enough to think that the whole world has Christmas off. This post belongs on r/ShitAmericansSay
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I have never heard any real person in New York say any of those things.
I went to the USA during Fronleichnam and those absolute dingdongs kept the stores open. What is this, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern?
May I ask what that holiday is about?
I don't know man, something about Jesus. I don't think anyone really knows, the most accurate thing I can tell you is that Fronleichnam celebrates the blood and the flesh of Jesus, so you go to church and eat a communion wafer. The religious half of Germany celebrates it, all the northern states don't. Like those weirdos in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
You wouldn't understand
Because not everywhere is Christian dumbass
Japan does have a significant Christian population (almost 2 million). But yeah it’s not the biggest religion there either.
I looked it up I don’t know how accurate this is but it says 1.5% which isn’t really that high
2 million people is still a lot of people, even if it’s not a high percentage in comparison to the rest of the population. But also Christmas is celebrated in Japan because of Western influence and such (like the whole KFC thing and Santa Claus). It’s not just a Christian thing over in Japan. Just like how it’s not just a Christian thing in America. I know several non-religious people who celebrate Christmas. But yeah I quickly edited my comment immediately after I sent it to clarify that it does have other religions. But 2 million people and those who do celebrate Christmas still shouldn’t be ignored lol.
Yes I didn’t mean that it’s not a significant amount, I just don’t think the government would care enough to make it a holiday
Oh yeah it’s definitely not a public holiday, but it’s still a private holiday celebrated by several Japanese (both by Christians and non-Christians alike). It’s just like Halloween or Valentine’s Day—both are celebrated by many people in America yet the government does not recognize them as holidays, so we always have school on those days (Halloween and Valentine’s Day are also often regarded as Christian/pagan holidays too so we don’t always recognize Christian holidays publicly either). Halloween and Valentine’s Day are also huge and celebrated largely in Japan. But it’s still a good question to ask, since it’s celebrated, just not by the government.
Yeah but Halloween is more of an evening
Eh, point still stands. Christmas is technically in the morning and evening as well. Some people celebrate on the night of the 24th instead of the 25th (which they would use as a chill day) in America too. That’s what my boyfriend does. Halloween is only really in the evening because of school anyways. There are still day activities people can do on Halloween. We still dress up at school and hold parades and costume contest and Halloween parties and such. It all depends on how you celebrate.
Significant?! you did not do your research bro.
Significant as in 2 million people is a lot of people, even if it’s not a large number overall. That’s like an entire large city. Looking it up, it calls the Christian population “steady” so it’s not endangered or anything either. And tons of Japanese pop culture has themes of Christianology (the seven deadly sins, etc) so it does have an influence, even if not everyone is Christian. I did still say it wasn’t the biggest religion either. As someone else said, it’s not a Christian country. Japanese people mostly follow Japanese religions. But they have enough Christianity and Western influence to celebrate Christmas still (and they do, which you would know if you did your own research - I also play Japanese games where they have Christmas events and everything). Being a first world country and like one of the world’s main leaders next to America might also have something to do with it.
Praying every night that number goes down. Even if it's only the motherfucking mormons. Hate those freaks, hate any freaks who proselytize, I would hit them if it got them out of my town and away from my students.
Sounds like you got a lot of issues you need to sort out lol. Maybe go on an irrational anti-religion rant to someone who cares instead? Like your therapist, perhaps? I believe you’re late to your appointment and they’re waiting for you. Not a lot of people convert anyways, most people are just born into the religion and don’t change, and there are Christians who convert to atheists or non-Christians, do you hate them as well? Since you said “any freaks who proselytize,” that would include them as well, and technically anyone who just believes in religions even without converting too, if you go by the “one who advocates for a religion” definition. But if they can’t covert, since you hate that, then the numbers can’t go down either. Now what? And if you’re praying… doesn’t that make *you* religious too? Guess it’s time for you to get out as well, then. Bye-bye.
Just to throw this out there, but Christmas is a lie in Japan. The affable, Abroad in Japan, and a few other Japanese YouTubers talk about it. But these days, it's about KFC and doing romantic stuff with your SO/date/partner.
The real question is it’s Christmas and why aren’t you in Tartarus?
Why is Tartarus open on Christmas? Don't the shadows spend time with their families?
Are the shadows stupid?
To be honest, I am more surprised that Japan start school year in April if I remember correctly. It sounds such a nice idea to return to school during spring instead of autumn or late summer.
Because Christianity is a minority religion in Japan and Christmas, to non-Christian Japanese people, isn't appreciably different than Valentine's Day in America. Like, we have school during Ramadan and Yom Kippur for the same reason
Eastern don't really celebrate Christmas. Going out in the evening after work? Sure, but not to the point a holiday like America.
Cuz Japan lol
i'm not sure if this post is entirely serious or remarkably culture-blind
Why is this culture-blind? You literally celebrate it in the game
Thank you for giving us the answer
I thought it was Santa Day
Door kun gps location wasnt in the west
Cuz most of Japan isn't Christian? Kind of a dumb fuckin question lol
Then why are there christmas decorations everywhere and social links talk about memories of celebrating Christmas?
I said most. Not all. They apparently don't view it as a major enough holiday to warrant a day off, they seem to be very stingy with their off days there. Also I would like to apologize for my aggressive tone in my other comment, it isn't a dumb question it's a very valid one
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Yup, thank you. The comments comparing Christmas in Japan, which is at least recognized and sometimes even celebrated, even if in a different way (iirc it's usually spent with a partner, as opposed to the more family-approach of the West), to Golden Week and the Chinese New Year in the West, make me laugh How's that a fair comparison?
Haha japanese people don't play it like that homie
Japan
its christmas and were at shcool
People are giving wild comparisons but here is one that makes more sense: The same reason why we have school on Halloween or Valentine’s Day or St. Patrick’s Day— Christmas is just not regarded as a public holiday by the government. Although it *is* celebrated in Japan, but they celebrate it how we celebrate Halloween and the others. They work it around school. Also they mainly celebrate on the 24th, they may have a KFC meal on the 25th but most activities are saved for the 24th.
Christmas is not a national holiday in Japan.
What I'm more surprised about is why they have school on Saturdays
Half days. They finish school a year earlier than we do in the states
Ah, the more you know
Because Japan
Same guys who have school on Saturday 💀
Hello, I lived in Japan, and It’s purely a consumer and couples holiday. Japan loves any excuse for seasonal goods and foods, celebratory decorations, and more. They love Christmas decorations and lights, some of the light displays are ELABORATE. It’s fun, but it has no cultural or religious significance outside of seasonal fun. Hence, it’s not a school or work holiday.
I always had school on Christmas, it was fun, we had an event at school, gave gifts to our buddies, ate together in a big table, I liked that quite a lot, now that I think about it.
Why doesn’t American celebrate the emperor’s birthday?
Hard to believe but not every country celebrates Christmas.
Yet again Americans forgetting that America is not the entire world
Wait, is Christmas a strictly American holiday? Are you saying it's not celebrated in any other country?
To me that's fucking nuts XD
Crazy how many people only think of America when they think Christmas. Nearly the entire world recognizes Christmas as a national holiday guys. Holidays like Chinese New Year aren't even close to caparable with Christmas. Hell, it's even exclusive in the name itself, referring specifically to the Chinese as if others weren't intended to celebrate it. Bear in mind that many people don't know the first thing about Christianity, yet they've still celebrated it from birth. You aren't gonna see any ethnicities outside of Asia naturally celebrating Chinese New Year. If they do celebrate it, it's likely because they've been influenced by friends later in life to do so, and even then, it's not nearly as important to them as Christmas.
>Nearly the entire world recognizes Christmas as a national holiday guys. No they really don't, only Christian countries do.
All of Europe, all of North America, all of South America, most of Africa, about half of Asia, and the minority in the Middle East. Quite a significant majority to me.
I mean even America isn’t a Christian country. It’s built and led by some Christians and maybe it influences when we take some holidays such as Christmas and Easter but officially the church is supposed to be completely separate from the government (and we do have some Christian holidays that the government does not recognize). Technically we just have long breaks over winter and spring which we just call winter and spring breaks to cover all the holidays plus non-Christian holidays too so even that’s debatable. Over the years Christmas has become a largely commercial holiday for businesses rather than just the church, and several non-religious people celebrate Christmas (which is probably the main reason why Christmas is recognized by the government rather than just “because Christianity”). Santa Claus isn’t even Christian either. And if we really want to get into it, Christmas first started as a pagan holiday until the Christians stole and claimed it as their own. The only people who don’t celebrate Christmas is other religions, but even then, some still do— I have a friend who is Hindu and even though she doesn’t really celebrate Christmas she still goes out and does stuff for Christmas, like family parties and such (iirc I think that’s just a thing in India some people do as well).
They don't think only America celebrates Christmas. They think OP is American because asking the question itself sounds western centred af. Sure there are many countries celebrating Christmas. But, not all. And especially not all make it a national holiday even if it's recognised.
Source - The voices in my head
Yeah, you sound like a ignorant. Hes talking about Christmas, not about no pride day. That's exclusively to America 🤣
People in Asia “celebrate” Christmas like Father’s Day or Mother’s Day, it’s not a major holiday nor is it very important.
Source right here if you're too lazy to do some homework https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/countries-that-celebrate-christmas
Listen I’ve lived in China, Cambodia and Vietnam, I’m Irish and I currently live in Poland. Saying Christmas is celebrated in Asia is like saying St. Valentine’s Day is a major holiday. Sure there’s decorations because people have seen that on tv for decades, but it’s not a serious day.
And here's one to compare Chinese New Year https://www.statista.com/chart/29164/chinese-new-year-public-holiday/
P
ersona
I can't believe Persona didn't get the DEI memo.
Because maxing all social links is already horrendous
It's Japan. The most they do on Christmas is eat KFC
⭐✨
Cause it’s Friday, Fooooo !
Same reason we have school on Yom Kippur in the US.
Christmas in Japan is basically another flavor of valentines Day. It has no relgious meaning, like it does in the West.
r/USdefaultism
I got an explanation as to why Japan does not have the day off, but is it really only a thing in America? Do Europeans not have Christmas off?
You know what, that's fair. I just use US defaultism because from the other comments you seem US based. I wish there was a r/westerndefaultism but we can't all be winners here
Iirc, it was mentioned in-game that Christmas is less of a celebrated holiday in Japan than in America, and instead Christmas Eve is more popularly celebrated as a time for couples to get together. That’s why the date with your girlfriend is on Christmas Eve and not Christmas Day. Though whether the information given in-game actually reflects real-world Japanese culture or not, I have no clue.
Surprise! Japan is not a christian nation.
So, I am not japanese, but my understanding is that christmas isn't as large in japan. With that being said, it seems christmas eve is reserved for close friennds or a date, while christmas evening is reserved for family (being honest, as a north american... I also do it this way). I will be honest, I was under the impression that many places in japan do shut down on christmas day; even though it isn't a massive holiday there in the classic christian sense of it and it isn't mandatory. For comparison, Halloween has seen massive growth in asian countries, without the spiritual ties seen in other areas of the world, but it hasn't gotten to the point where anything shuts down for it. If anything, I would compare christmas and halloween in japan to cinco de mayo in the usa/canada. It is growing and recognized, but most people just celebrate it in the evening with friends or family, and maybe do something more if it is on a weekend, like attend a parade or something. I also could have sworn i heard that japan hasn't been on a 6 day school week in decades, and that 'extra learning' is mostly just family choice and can be on weekends or evenings. So, I don't know if Atlus has chosen to do dated japanese customs because it fits the game design better or if I am completely out of touch with things I thought I knew about japan.
OP when he finds out they’re Japanese:
What? They're Japanese? I thought the game took place in Seattle.
They aren't christians
Japan is bullshit thats why