![[Image: Brian Ashcraft | Kotaku]](https://kotaku.com/app/uploads/2019/12/kre5nxgcwa4ik6gl3ti4.jpg)
Every year across Japan, people line up at Kentucky Fried Chicken joints to place their orders for Christmas dinner.
The yearly ad campaigns and meal ordering have made KFC part of Japan’s holiday season.
![Forms to fill out and reserve your meal. [Image: Brian Ashcraft | Kotaku]](https://kotaku.com/app/uploads/2019/12/xicnmtplriejuop3nzuj.jpg)
This Twitter user writes, “If we’re talking Japanese Christmas, it’s gotta be KFC!” Of course, not everyone eats KFC at Christmas in Japan (not everyone celebrates Christmas!), but the fast food chain has become inseparable from the day.
日本のクリスマス…と言えばやっぱりケンタ！ pic.twitter.com/M5do8jlnrD
— Rin Rin Shingo (@RingoShingo) December 24, 2014
Kentucky Fried Chicken has been in Japan still the 1970s, and people in Japan love its chicken. But why is there this connection between KFC and Christmas? In many countries, Christmas evokes images of a home-cooked meal—not fast food! But Christmas, while celebrated, is not a national holiday in Japan.
https://twitter.com/embed/status/673486981221904384
According to one explanation, the reason is that foreign tourists in Japan during Christmas couldn’t find turkey, so they went to KFC. I’m not so sure about that, because roast beef, another popular Christmas meal, is easily found.
The official explanation from KFC is that a Christian kindergarten in Japan wanted to order KFC for its kiddy Christmas party. The school reportedly asked the KFC shop manager to dress up as Santa Claus for the party. He agreed, appearing at the party in full Santa gear, saying, “Merry Christmas,” to the children’s delight. According to KFC, gradually, more and more schools ordered KFC for their holiday parties, and in 1974, KFC held its first special Christmas meal campaign. Decades later, KFC’s Christmas has become an annual mainstay, with people growing up eating the fried chicken during the holidays and naturally associating it with Christmas.
![In Japan, KFC fried chicken is made from 100 percent Japanese birds. [Image: Brian Ashcraft | Kotaku]](https://kotaku.com/app/uploads/2019/12/u2r1ktycj78bpdqrcqne.jpg)
And this year, like every year, expect lines.
ケンタッキー恐るべし。#ケンタッキーフライドチキン #クリスマス #行列 pic.twitter.com/d20fhzjBZj
— 竹本タクシー／MC・実況・ボイトレ (@takemototaxi) December 25, 2016
ＫＦＣ（ケンタッキー・フライド・チキン）新宿西口店、行列が店外まで伸びてるけど３５人程度の待ちなので圧縮しろし！←同人誌即売会脳 pic.twitter.com/2TxL1kUHeD
— 日紘≪かひろ≫ (@kahiro_) December 24, 2016
ケンタ行列〜。 pic.twitter.com/MKc4CXZB
— minami (@ff373) December 24, 2011
夜にホームパーティーに招待していただくのでプレゼントにチキンでも持って行こうと思ったが
最寄り駅のケンタッキーに行列が。。 pic.twitter.com/o3KHwUobzZ— 宮地ケンスケ (@nibugomiyaji) December 24, 2014
https://twitter.com/embed/status/812590298048016385
予約してたのに行列とは(llﾟдﾟ) (@ ケンタッキーフライドチキン 鎌倉店 – @kfc_jp in 鎌倉市, 神奈川県) https://t.co/Fgew7vJpjr pic.twitter.com/JHoLNTrFnR
— 風林火山 (@niceguy_gal) December 24, 2016
This article was originally published on December 22, 2017.
