20booked for that evening. It is the ideal time for couples to go out for a special evening, where they dress up, give each other presents, and enjoy a delicious meal Christmas has become associated with romance, rather like Valentine's Day in the West The food is an important part of the Christmas celebrations Japanese do not usually eat roast turkey or baked ham on Christmas. They are more likely to eat fried or teriyaki chicken, fried potatoes, cheese-stuffed wonton, or even pizza. The favorite dessert is"Christmas cake," which hardly exists in the West. It is a light not very sweet cake covered with whipped cream and fruit such as strawberries, sometimes with a plastic Santa Claus for decoration on top tores everywhere compete to sell their own unique cakes in the days leading up to Christmas. As in the West, gift-giving is a big part of the holiday. but it takes on its own character in Japan. On their big night out, romantic partners may give each other fiowers. cute stuffed toys, rings and other jewelry. Within the family, parents may give presents to their young children, although it's usually not vice versa. The idea here is that the gifts come from Santa Claus, so it only makes sense to give them while the children are still young enough to believe in Santa It is customary to give presents called oseibo to bosses and colleagues, to teachers, or to other people outside the immediate circle of friends and family. These gifts function as a way of showing appreciation to people who have performed Christians some type of service for you. Japanese make up only a very small part(less than two percent of the population of Japan. so not very tamiliar with the religious roots of the holiday. Nevertheless, the with their have an amazing ability to import elements from other cultures and integrate them own culture. For example, Buddhism, the parliarnentary form of government, large corporations, and the current educational system all originally came from abr These same are so successful in today's Japan precisely because they are no longer exactly the as they were. Like Christmas, the Japanese made them uniquely their own.