Christmas Celebrations and Traditions of Japan
Mostly, the Christmas Celebrations in Japan are the usual Christian traditions without its religious matrix as practised in a country where only one per cent of its population are Christians. Nevertheless, the Japanese as a whole celebrate Xmas with curious vigor that can rival those of believers. In Japan, you will find all the universal symbols representing Xmas filling not only the homes but even the communities. The Japanese industry provided the Christian nations with supplies of Holiday decorations, toys and trinkets. The Japanese community later absorbed these practices. How does Japan Celebrate Christmas? Added for 2019, I recorded a…
Christmas in London: Inside Selfridges 2019
It's become a bit of an annual tradition. Selfridges opens it's 'Christmas Shop' (or, maybe just enough displays to qualify as a Christmas Shop) in late July / Early August - and all the newspapers start the annual uproar about Christmas Creep. Another annual tradition is for me to go visit the shop, and take photos to share with everyone who can't manage to make it to London themselves. Selfridges Christmas Shop in London For those of you who don't know, Selfridges is a major upscale department store on Oxford Street in London. It's a become well known for being…
Celebrate Christmas in Summer: The Aussie Way
A few years ago, my brother skipped town and disappeared to Australia, never to be heard from again. Ok, I’m being over dramatic. He did head off to Australia without having a leaving party, only messages once a month and came home after a year. But that is totally the same thing, right? Ok maybe not but I’m annoyed with him. But why am I so cross with him? He missed Christmas. So when I heard that people in Oz celebrate Christmas in July, I was tickled pink! One of my favourite holidays could be celebrated during the summer? Sign…
Christmas Lore: Weird Traditions and Superstitions
We could discuss the the psychology of Christmas and its significance for days on end. For now, though, let's just agree that it is a very important moment in our lives, both from a spiritual and a calendaristic point of view. As such, like many other significant moments in the year, Christmas has quite a few superstitions linked to it. Today, let's take a look at some of them that may make your eyebrows raise in disbelief. Seeing spirits The Winter Solstice was considered a very important moment in each year, given that it was the day with the longest…