December 24, 2007

Season's greetings to all JOI community members,

It has been a while since our last Community News, which can be blamed on my time schedule getting clogged up the closer we get to the end of the year.

It's Christmas time. And here in Japan 'tis not quite the season to be jolly—at least not for most people—Christmas is a working day in Japan. But it is not a dull time. Christmas decorations can be found blinking on and off all around the cities. We in Fukuoka are quite lucky to be in a city big enough to have some large department stores that create spectacular street lighting events and give parts of the city a surreal Christmas feel.

An illuminated underground shopping arcade

The main street of town lined with decorated trees

Christmas in Japan is not the quite the same as in the west. It has no religious significance for the greater percentage of the population, and actually, it is Christmas Eve, not Christmas Day, that is the more celebrated event.

Christmas Eve: A Night for Romance

Christmas Eve is marketed in Japan as one of the big three romantic days, the other two being Valentine's Day and White Day. クリスマスイブ, or just イブ (ibu) for short, is a night for couples to spark up the romance in their relationships. Restaurants, jewelers, hot springs, hotels and the like do a brisk trade on this night of great expectations (and probably great disappointments).

The difference between Christmas Eve and the other two romantic days is all in the advertising. Those pied pipers of marketing in television land seem to place emphasis on the couples exchanging presents rather than one partner buying something for the other.

On Valentine's Day, the girls give the gifts; on White Day the boys have to remember to give something back. But on the Christmas Eve, TV commercials, seasonal dramas, and music videos, the couples both have wrapped presents hidden behind their backs. The scene usually plays out something like this: The couple approach each other at their glittering rendezvous point smiling sheepishly. (One of them is invariably late due to overtime at work.) She hands him a red wrapped gift, and he hands over a jewelery box with a ribbon attached. It is a cliché in Japan but everyone (except the rare die-hard cynic) seems to fall for it year after year, and the idea never seems to lose its appeal.

A hotel lobby with a Santa mannequin at the piano

Christmas Day: Mum, Dad, and the Kids

Christmas Day is mainly a family event involving Mum, Dad, and the kids—not the extended family. The Santa Claus myth is kept up quite well by modern families, and lots of little Japanese kids (but only the really little ones) do actually believe in サンタさん (Santa san). This year, with Santa's bag filled with Nintendo DS Lites, the toy stores will be filled with parents trying to find Nintendo DS Lites or other "right gifts," which they won't get the credit for until their child reaches the second or third grade and realizes that it was Mum and Dad all along.

Christmas Meal, Japan Style

If you live in Japan, there is a particular tradition that will leave you puzzled at first: Christmas cake. From the end of November, you see posters in every bakery and supermarket urging mothers to start reserving their Christmas cakes early, before all the orders get filled up. No turkey or baked ham for Christmas dinner here, the traditional Christmas lunch is pizza or fried chicken for the kids, followed by white cream cake. Yummmmm(?!). And the only people you'll see wearing Santa suits will be riding scooters delivering pizzas! メリークリスマス！

Support Tips

	Are you hearing echoes in the classroom? Because the new classrooms let you and your teacher talk at the same time, you may hear echoes (or cause echoes) if your microphone isn't adjusted properly. We have several new FAQs to deal with the topic: If you hear echoes or noise when you talk, please read this FAQ. If you hear echoes or noise when someone else talks, please read this FAQ. If someone else hears echoes when you talk, please read this FAQ.
	Is your voice cutting in and out in the classroom? Your Internet connection may be a little slow—try this FAQ for ways to improve your voice quality.
	Are the voices of other users breaking up in the classroom? Again, it might be your Internet connection. One great way to solve this problem is to turn off your video reception, as described in this FAQ.
	Don't forget about the weekly lesson blog! It's a free way to learn about Japanese culture and learn a few words and phrases along the way.

Thanks, everyone, for helping make JOI a great online Japanese school! I hope you're having fun learning Japanese online.

If you have other questions, be sure to check out the FAQs, or if you don't find an answer there, write me at support@japonin.com.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays,
 
Moses
JOI Support