Christmas In Japan

Christmas in Japan. Actually, since Japan is not a Christian country, anything connected to Christmas is strictly commercial. There may be decorations, lights, and music. And of course, there is the encouragement to give gifts. Some families eat a chicken dinner and a special cake with white icing and a strawberry on the top, making it look like the Japanese flag. But all this is done to please young people, who are more connected to Western customs.

For everyone else Christmas is just another working day. In Sendai every year at this time there is a “Festival of Lights”. But all of the lights were lost in the tsunami and the city had far too many other concerns to think about replacing them. But other prefectures wanted to help this city and wanted to encourage people to keep a positive spirit. So they donated 500,000 lights to Sendai. Now for a few weeks we have twinkling lights in the downtown area, thanks to so many who cared about us. That, of course, makes this festival hold something very deep and special for us all.

To help those still in need in Japan, please consider buying Letters to the Ground from the Heart or donating to the cause. 100% of the proceeds will be distributed to survivors of The Great East Japan / Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami, most notably the Sendai Yomawari Group that serves the homeless—a population which is now exploding.

Photo Credit: asianews.it