Christmas Extravaganza!

Welcome back!

One piece of evidence of America's cultural influence on the world is the spread of the American customs of Christmas. Even in Japan, where very few people believe in Jesus Christ, you can find Christmas decorations and music just about everywhere you go from November on. Here are some of the things about Japanese Christmas that make it unique:

-Instead of a family holiday, it is more of a romantic holiday.

-None of the traditional American Christmas foods broke the cultural barrier.

-Many mistakenly believe that KFC is a traditional Christmas food.

-WHAM!'s "Last Christmas" is the Christmas song I hear played the most.

-"Christmas Cakes," or cakes covered in cream and strawberries, are very popular.

I tried to bake a Christmas cake by myself, and this was the result:



I decided then that I needed help. Satoko came to the rescue by buying a ready made sponge cake from the store. Then all we had to do was whip the cream and add the toppings.



Last but not least, click here to see why I am so excited.

The Northern Lights

Saturday night, after a community Christmas party and before a long, alcohol-fueled night of karaoke, my friends and I happened to come across this vista, my first clear view of the Northern Lights in the sky.

snow!

As you can see, snow has come to Mutsu.

Does that give you the Christmas spirit?