But here in Japan, it’s always KFC for Christmas. This year we ordered the original Christmas party barrel that includes 8 pieces of fried chicken, a special shrimp gratin, a triple-berry tiramisu cake, and a 2020 version of the KFC Christmas Plate. Christmas is not a national holiday in Japan, but eating KFC as a Christmas meal has become a widely practiced tradition thanks to an ad campaign that started in 1974. This Month's Box. So if you want to try enjoying Christmas like people do in Japan - grab a KFC (and have some TokyoTreat snacks for dessert)! KFC, Christmas, and Japan: An Annual Tradition 1st October 2020 Just like with Halloween , Christmas isn’t celebrated in nearly the same way as it is in the western hemisphere. It’s now part of the culture. image credit: pixabay. For almost 50 years, Japanese families have turned to KFC and the colonel's eleven secret herbs and spices to take centre-stage on the table for a traditional Christmas dinner. Why the country known for its gastronomy flocks to Kentucky Fried Chicken for the festive season By Kirsty Bouwers Posted: Monday December 2 2019 Published 10:51 AM, December 24 2020 GMT ... an entire nation was convinced that going to KFC was a Christmas tradition. So go ahead, bundle up in your KFC holiday sweater, gather around your 11 herbs and spices fire log, and I’ll tell you the story of “Kentucky for Christmas” in Japan. Wait, Japanese Celebrate Christmas? The Christmas party barrel cost 4,100 yen ($39.68 USD). This time of year is when KFC Japan sees their highest sales, with December 24 being the busiest day of the year - ten times busier than KFC Japan’s annual average. Eating KFC food as a Christmas time meal has since become a widely practised custom in Japan. Some even thought it was a joke, but Lifetime confirmed to NBC that this new holiday bucket of love is, in fact, really happening. —Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) December 7, 2020 —Ben Griswold ️ (@Babyl0n96) December 7, 2020 —islandskris (@islandskris) December 7, 2020 —D Skillet (@DSkillet2) December 7, 2020. Last week, I drove past the first KFC. Enjoy your own Japanese festive treats with TokyoTreat this month! December 28, 2020 in Agencies / Arts / contextualization / Evangelism / Innovation / International Missions / Leadership / Strategy tagged BBC / cooking / Corbin / culinary skills / Japan / KFC by JD. [13] [14] [15] As of 2019 [update] , in Japan, Christmas sales of KFC made around Christmas Eve account for nearly five percent of annual revenue. ... 2020; KFC… ... KFC stores in Japan … KFC and Christmas in Japan? Christmas, Japan, and KFC. Roughly 1% of Japanese are Christian, but the rest of the country gets pretty into the yuletide spirit, too. Well, yes! Here, December is a time for strolling, bathed in the glow of the night illuminations. In 2019, KFC Japan made 5% of their annual sales on Christmas Eve! In 1974, KFC launched a Christmas meal campaign with a very catchy slogan, 「クリスマスにはケンタッキー」(kurisumasu ni wa kentakkii) or “Kentucky for Christmas.” With that, the Japanese people flooded to KFC as a Christmas tradition.