KFC has a cultural weight in Japan unlike anything we've seen over here in the west. Today, let's dig into that tradition and learn about the Bizarre Japanese Tradition of KFC for Christmas!
Transcript:
We all have our holiday traditions, some of us have the usual turkey and ham for christmas dinner, mashed potatoes, stuffing, maybe that weird, canned, jelly cranberry sauce. But what if I told you that there’s a huge tradition overseas that you probably never heard of. Instead of homemade meals for the holidays, Japanese families will pick up a party bucket of good ol fashioned KFC for a crispy, greasy, holiday treat. You might be wondering a couple of things like, How did this tradition begin? How common is it? And, wait they have KFC in Japan? Today, let’s dig into this quirky holiday tradition and trace back to where it all began!
Post World War II, as Japan’s economy was not only settling back to pre-war condition, it was booming. The average household was finally finding themselves in a position where they could indulge in consumer culture for the very first time, and with the United States being considered a cultural powerhouse, the interest in all things Western, foods, fashion, entertainment, and vacations were becoming the most exciting new way to spend all this newfound cash.
Those living in Tokyo and other major japanese cities would start to see American business popping up rapidly throughout the 1970s, where during this decade, Japan’s fast food industry exploded by 600%. During the rapid expansion, KFC would open it’s first store in 1970, and by 1981, the chain would have over 320 stores making a combined $200 million USD every year.
Christmas in Japan is largely secular, with less than 1% of the country identifying as Christian, and families didn’t have much in the way of strict traditions for how they celebrate the holiday. Somehow, this made for the perfect operation for a rapid KFC infiltration. In 1974, KFC launched the Kentucky for Christmas marketing campaign, alongside the holiday themed party buckets.
The origin of the Christmas craze is a little murky, but has been attributed to a number of potential factors. For starters, Takeshi Okawara, manager of the first japanese KFC, and soon-to-be KFC Japan CEO, came to a company christmas party dressed up as santa, granting the idea to have Santa/Colonel Sanders hybrids as decor during the holidays, show up in commercials, and even deliver the buckets on Christmas Eve.
Alongside this, the Kentucky for Christmas had a massive marketing push, advertisements would show happy families enjoying the feast of a golden, fried chicken party bucket alongside the song My Old Kentucky Home.
KFC also had the benefit of being a familiar flavor profile, as many japanese dishes would consist of sliced meat covered in panko bread crumbs and fried. This made KFC the perfect blend of foriegn and familiar, an exciting, delicious holiday feast that wasn’t too exotic for the whole family to partake in.
Over 50 years later, The tradition goes incredibly strong to this very day, with families reserving their buckets anywhere from days or weeks in advance to ensure they’re able to bring home KFC despite the incredible demand. Those who go in unprepared can expect waiting in line on Christmas Eve for hours for a bucket, or even being met with a “Sold Out” sign. It seems safe to say that this unexpected Christmas Tradition isn’t going anywhere, anytime soon.
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