Japan has a long history of adopting holidays from other
countries (usually America) and religions (usually Christianity). This year
Easter has arrived in Japan. Yes, just like Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and
Halloween before it, Easter is now being promoted as a fun holiday that
everyone, regardless of religion, should take part in.* And just like all
those other holidays it is being promulgated by corporations.
Someone said to me the other day, “You know how Japan
manages to get the holidays they adopt so wrong? Very calculatedly.” You might
find it strange that the tradition in Japan is to eat fried chicken to
celebrate Christmas, but remember that this “tradition” was all started by a
Kentucky Fried Chicken ad campaign in 1974.**
Well this year, I am excited to be witnessing this
artificial tradition-making process first hand! Not only are many major candy
brands coming out with Easter themed sweets, like these Apple Pie with Carrot
Kit Kats:
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Notice the reallllly clever
pun in Japanese “Iisutaa de ii sutaato wo” (Get a good start with Easter!)
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But Lotte has
released an online ad about how to “Enjoy Easter” with your kids. Hint: Forego
the plastic eggs, just hide candy bars and cookies in their original packaging
around the house for your wee ones to hunt down!
They also have a dedicated site with tips and tricks for
making your Easter “treasure hunt” more successful. And be sure not to miss the
link to “Happy Egg Easter Recipes” using Ghana brand chocolate, including such
classics as omlette rice with chocolate-ketchup ‘demi-glace’ sauce.
I suppose we will have to wait until next year to see how well this new Easter tradition catches on, but for this year at least we can enjoy the sugary ride.
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*(Not that anyone should be banned from celebrating any
religious holiday if they choose to. It’s just strange to be promoting Easter
as a non-religious holiday when that’s not really the case.)
**(This is basically common knowledge by now, but you can read
about the details here: Why Japan is Obsessed with Kentucky Fried Chicken on Christmas)
