For our last podcast of 2013, I thought it’d be fun to do something light-hearted; so let’s talk about traditions surrounding Christmas and New Years in Japan. We’ll cover how these holidays came to be celebrated in Japan and talk a bit about the forms they take today.
Listen to the episode here.
Sources
On the history aspects:
Sansom, George. A History of Japan, Vol II and III.
Jansen, Marius. The Making of Modern Japan
The modern information is all personal knowledge or googleable information.
Images (Courtesy of the Wikimedia Foundation)
![Christmas lights in central Tokyo. The spire in the background is Tokyo Tower.](http://historyofjapan.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/artelligent_christmas_roppngi_hills_2006.jpg?w=300)
![A Christmas float in Kobe, Japan.](http://historyofjapan.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/450px-santa_claus_kobe.jpg?w=225)
![Because you thought I was kidding about the Christmas chicken thing.](http://historyofjapan.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/ayase.jpg?w=300)
![An assortment of Osechi Ryori.](http://historyofjapan.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/re49wj1.jpg?w=300)
![A Kadomatsu, home for visiting toshigami.](http://historyofjapan.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/337px-kadomatsu-big-easyview-2009-copy.jpg?w=168)
![Nengajo, or New Years Cards.](http://historyofjapan.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/446px-an_instance_of_new_year_card_in_japan.jpg?w=223)