What Christmas Looks Like in Japan

Recently some friends were asking us about our Kentucky Fried Chicken plans for Christmas. They had heard about this Japanese tradition and wondered if it was really true. So instead of a long Facebook reply, we are putting this on the blog because others may find this interesting, too. KFC ( known simply as Kentucky here in Japan), is THE place for your Christmas meal here in Japan. However, as far as we know, most people don't actually eat at the restaurant on Christmas.
This tradition appears to have started in the mid-seventies, when they started promoting Christmas meals apparently after some foreigners ended up at KFC on Christmas day when they couldn't find turkey in Japan (it is still hard to find turkey, but in recent years we are seeing it in a few more stores).
Christmas is not an actual holiday in Japan. Most people work on the 25th and in recent years the Japanese school year starts their winter break after Christmas. In Japan, New Years is the big family holiday. Everyone comes home for New Years. Christmas was often thought of as a romantic date night. It is still popular for couples today.
Young families began celebrating Christmas in the Western way (North American and UK). The image of Christmas is chicken and Christmas cake. (Subject of a whole other blog). An added bonus is that starting in December, the statues of the Colonel outside most KFC restaurants are dressed up like Santa.
KFC is now the standard for Christmas meals, offering a decorated bucket of chicken with salad, Christmas cake, biscuits, and a collectors plate. These buckets are so popular, you can begin making reservations early in December.
Since we moved to the town we are living in now and have a KFC less than a 5 minute bike ride away, we have started doing this tradition again. Our family likes KFC, but most of the year the meals are just chicken and fries (and a little pricy for fast food). So we reserved a bucket, and on Christmas day, at the appointed time, someone will bike over and pick it up.

Moving and Trusting God

When we returned to Japan after our summer in North America last year, we knew that the big house we were moving into was temporary and we would have to move out by mid July. So we kept our eyes open for places to live. This past January we found out that a missionary family that lived very close to the school was moving. We looked at the place and became very excited about the possibility of living there. It seemed perfect for our family, a good size, a minute from the school, three minutes from the train station and many of the conveniences of a western style house.

We asked about it right away, but they said they needed to decided what they were going to do with the place. In March we were told it was not available. I was disappointed I wanted to live like so many of the other missionaries I knew. I felt we had lived in a small Japanese apartment far from the school for too many years. The boys commuted 2 hours a day for three and a half years. I felt the boys deserved to live close to the school. I thought I was finally going to get my dream of having a washer and a dryer like so many of my expat friends. I asked about a few other missionary houses but we were told they were all unavailable.

It seemed nothing was available, so we began looking elsewhere for a place to live. We found a house that seemed promising and compared it to a few others that were available. There were things we liked and things we were worried about, but we decided to look into it. Unfortunately, something was lost in translation and things began happening faster than we wanted. We thought we were just expressing interest, but less than a week later we got a call saying we had the place and could move in by the next week. Our friends were a great help in getting us into this place. It went pretty smoothly but any move is challenging.

On Friday, May 1^st, the last of our boxes and things were moved from the old place. It was a little overwhelming. There were boxes everywhere. It didn't seem like we would ever find a place to put all of our stuff. I went to bed exhausted. Terence came to bed a little later. He woke me up to share an e-mail he had just gotten. It was from the person in charge of the house we had wanted from January. The people who were going to move there had backed out and it was available if we wanted it. We really wanted that place, so I considered taking matters into my own hands and getting what I wanted no matter what the cost. We sent an e-mail to see how much it would cost to get out of the contract. I began to plan how to make it happen. We could just leave all of our boxes packed and have a moving company come move them. We could pay the money to get out of the contract. We could stay here for a few months and then move to the better place. As we began adding up all the costs involved, I had to admit that it was neither wise nor practical. I gave up moving but I didn't give up my desire yet.

I was very angry at God for a few days. I knew what I wanted, and God knew what I wanted. Why was God so mean? Not only did we have to settle for our second choice but then we had to know that the place we wanted was available and we still couldn't have it. It took me a few days to stop acting like a stubborn, spoiled child. I realized that God was wise and there must be a reason why we were where we were. I also realized that I had to trust God. I might never know God's plan but I know God's character so I can trust him. By trusting God I was able to give up my stubborn desire.

Of course there is more to the story. We are settling into our second choice house. It is becoming home to us. It is really a good size for us, bigger than our apartment and smaller than the big house we were in. It is a two story duplex. We have the right side. It also has a parking space (for when friends visit) and a small backyard with trees. It is convenient for shopping. On the down side it is near a busy street and a gravel parking lot where people repair cars or pack work trucks at 6:00am. Also our neighbor is a serious smoker and sometimes the smoke comes in our open windows. It had a plumbing problem but we think that is fixed now. We are pretty much unpacked. A bit after we were settled God blessed us with information we never thought we would know. A friend of ours sent us a link to a blog. She found out who would be moving into the house we had wanted.

It turns out it was very important that the other family have a house near the school. They were praying about this situation. Shortly after the prayer they found out that the place we couldn't take was available. So they were able to take it. You can read their side of the story by following this link.

http://thevanclaninjapan.blogspot.jp/2015/05/jehovah-jireh-our-provider.html

I am happy for this family. I look forward to getting to know them. I am thankful to have the opportunity to know a little of God's plan. I can see that their family needs that location more than we do. I am also excited about what God has in store for our family in this new neighborhood.

Maybe next time I won't be so stubborn and trust God sooner.

By the way this picture is our family on the second story balcony of our new house.