There are few Christians in Japan so Christmas is mostly a secular holiday.  The Japanese do copy a lot of our American customs - Santa, trees, gift giving, card sending...  Those who ARE Christians typically spend Christmas doing for OTHERS and not focused on their own families.  Christmas Eve is a time for couples, much like Valentine's Day here.

The BIG holiday in Japan is New Year's.  They spend 4-5 days celebrating, exchanging gifts & honoring ancestors.  The main focus is on clearing all debts before the new year.

We read the story "The Gift of the Old Pine Tree" from Christmas Stories Round the World.  Then we made mochi - a sticky, sweet Japanese dessert made from rice flour.  We ate a hard rice candy - as well as the rice paper wrapper!  And we talked about the importance of staying OUT of debt and being good stewards of our resources.

Peace to you,

Katie

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