KFC for Christmas Day in Japan

Christmas is celebrated in Japan differently than any other countries in many different ways, one of these being the popularity of Kentucky Fried Chicken. The traditional idea of having a Christmas roasted turkey or ham is not the same in Japan, and instead chicken is the go-to holiday meat.

Why KFC on Christmas?

This is especially because turkey is expensive and difficult to find in abundance in Japan.The question of if chicken was a popular meat before or after the popularizing of eating KFC on Christmas day is like the question of if the chicken or the egg came first. In 1970, the CEO of the Japanese KFC had an epiphany that he could market KFC chicken to be a Christmas dish, launching the campaign “Kentucky for Christmas” (Kurisumasu ni wa, Kentakki in Japanese).

1/3 of KFC’s Annual Sales Are at Christmas

This campaign in the 70’s worked like a charm, and has changed the food culture of Christmas in Japan since. Today, an estimated 3.6 million families in Japan eat KFC on Christmas day. Christmas makes up a third of KFC Japan’s annual sales, as Japanese customers buy Christmas dinner packages for Christmas day. People in Japan order these dinner packages far in advance of Christmas Day, as it is so popular that if you go the day of the line there will be hours of waiting. If you want to eat in the actual KFC restaurant, you’ll also need to make reservations very far in advance.

Eating KFC on Christmas Eve Is a Tradition in Japan

In Japan, sharing food in Japan is a valued social practice. Therefore, the shared buckets of KFC chicken on Christmas is the perfect way to share food with those you care about. Getting KFC on Christmas Eve has become a tradition in Japan that will likely be continued in the future, as generations want their children to experience the colonel and his tasty fried chicken as they did as a kid.