Why Japan celebrates Christmas with KFC

Happy new year everyone!! Welcome to 2021. We finally made it. The team and I are incredibly excited for the new year and to share with you some exciting new episodes and initiatives.

Now, I wouldn't describe myself as a holidays-y person because Christmas was never a big part of my life. To be honest, it all started when I discovered that Santa wasn't real at the ripe age of 5 because I realised the handwriting on my "note from Santa" was actually just my mum's...It was all downhill from there with the importance of the holiday aligning itself to my enjoyment of fruit cake (very little). Often time, my fizzled excitement was supported by the thought "why do Asians even celebrate Christmas?"

This year was however a little different. Sitting down at the table with no Christmas ham in sight, instead surrounded by a plethora of Chinese food spanning lobster to duck tongues, I realised that any tradition and holiday can be molded in the image of what you and your family represent. Celebrations don't have to align to traditional norms for them to be legitimised (I mean just look at Japan...the colonel for Christmas!), the more important factor is that they just need to celebrate something/someone.

I hope you all had an amazing break and gained at least 3kg in the process.

- Jeff