Let\u2019s face it, Christmas this year is going to be a little different for everyone, but in Japan they have been doing things a little differently since the 1970\u2019s where a curious festive tradition has taken hold.<\/p>\n
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Many Japanese people acknowledge Christmas, but don\u2019t necessarily celebrate with the same gusto as westerners, while some treat it as a romantic holiday similar to Valentine\u2019s Day, marking the occasion with upscale dinners. Yet did you know that an estimated 3.6m choose to visit KFC to mark the big day, often resulting in large queues and 3-4 hour-long waits on the 25th<\/sup> December?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A nationwide tradition with its genesis at Japan\u2019s very first KFC, owned by businessman Takeshi Okawara, it is said that Okawara created a novelty \u2018Party Barrel\u2019 of fried chicken as a way to celebrate Christmas and, in the autumn of 1970, set about furiously marketing it to his customers, with rapid uptake.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n It took just four years for KFC Japan to take the Party Barrel or Kurisumasu ni wa Kentakkii, translated as \u2019Kentucky for Christmas\u2019 nationwide. The innovative marketing campaign proved such a roaring success that Takeshi Okawara was propelled to KFC CEO just a decade later, a position he held for 18 years.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In tribute to this extraordinary custom, and to help our friends and followers discover more Japanese food traditions this festive season, we have tasked our talented development chef Ron Laity to come up with three special dishes \u2013 Mizkan Fried Chicken (MFC), our take on a delicious izakaya and bento box favourite chicken karaage \u2013 a traditional mix of sake and ginger, with a touch of Honteri for sweetness, miso for piquancy and buttermilk for moisture retention \u2013 an incredible Strawberry Christmas shortcake, made to a traditional recipe, and a sweet and fluffy Christmas eve treat, a spiced Gingerbread man. Take a look here!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Let\u2019s face it, Christmas this year is going to be a little different for everyone, but in Japan they have been doing things a little differently since the 1970\u2019s where a curious festive tradition has taken hold. Many Japanese people acknowledge Christmas, but don\u2019t necessarily celebrate with the same gusto as westerners, while some […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":6178,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[239],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n