KFC is a Japanese Christmas tradition: here’s why

My first Christmas in Japan after moving from America, I went to my Japanese cousin’s house. The table was topped with wine, sushi, pickled vegetables, salads, cake – and a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken. 

My cousin said she thought the presence of food from an American fast food chain would make me feel like I was back home. She was surprised to hear that we don’t eat KFC on Christmas Day. Wasn’t it a popular tradition?

I do market tours in Tokyo and get lots of questions about holidays. Is Christmas celebrated by Japanese people? Well, yes, but in a Japanese way. And it involves a Christmas bucket of KFC, which has become a holiday staple.

It all began with a marketing campaign in the mid-1970s by Takeshi Okawara, manager of the first KFC restaurant in Japan, who began promoting fried chicken "party barrels". Presenting KFC as a substitute for the American turkey dinner, the Christmas campaign “Kentucky for Christmas” quickly took off. Nowadays Colonel Sanders statues in front of each store are dressed up as Santa Claus for the holidays. Commercials remind viewers that it’s time to reserve buckets of chicken for the holidays – and they do need to be reserved. Christmas Eve is KFC Japan’s busiest day of the year.

Fried chicken for Christmas has become so popular that even konbini convenience stores jump on the bandwagon. Family Mart, Lawson and 7-Eleven all stock fried chicken for Christmas, if you didn’t get your KFC order in on time.

It’s not so unusual if you think about it. For one, keep in mind that Tokyo homes are very cosy, and most don’t have an oven big enough to roast a chicken. I only got my first one about 10 years ago, when we moved somewhere with the space for a countertop oven.

These days, I tell my in-laws that I’ll be bringing over a roast chicken for the family’s Christmas gathering. But there will still be a bucket of fried chicken on the dinner table: after all, it’s a Christmas tradition in Japan.