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Japan has a similar story with the "Christmas Cake": "Christmas cakes...[were] popularized when they began sales at Ginza, the central commercial district in T

Japan has a similar story with the "Christmas Cake": "Christmas cakes...[were] popularized when they began sales at Ginza, the central commercial district in Tokyo. This was during the time when Japan was going through massive waves of Westernization, particularly by the upper elite class. Members of the upper class, who had a strong penchant for Western cultures in general, enjoyed Western style desserts as a delicacy. Thus, being a Western style dessert, Christmas cakes were associated with the idea of Western modernity and social status. It was a major hit when the Christmas cakes were commercialized and became more affordable to the general public." "The Christmas cakes today are symbolized as a ritual of Christmas celebration; specifically, the act of sharing the cake with family or friends." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_cake#In_other_countries https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_cake#In_other_countr...

mlyle 7y ago
And so is so much of cultural interchange. I think it's wonderful how global trade and connectedness let us patch small holes in our culture. Japan likes festivals, and Christmas is all wrapped up to be a different enough festival to be foreign and romanticized, and is adapted enough to plug in. In turn, bits and pieces of Japanese culture are romanticized and find subpopulations in the West to celebrate them, mostly in not-quite-authentic form. We fool ourselves when we consider ourselves "cultured" from our associations with these things, but we also bring ourselves joy and greater variety in life.
ksec 7y ago
And Korea Put SPAM ( As in the luncheon meat ) in Christmas Gift Box. [1] http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20190122000585 http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20190122000585
- goodcanadian 7y ago
  Nothing beats the spam musubi in Hawaii. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spam_musubi https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spam_musubi

mlyle 7y ago

And so is so much of cultural interchange. I think it's wonderful how global trade and connectedness let us patch small holes in our culture. Japan likes festivals, and Christmas is all wrapped up to be a different enough festival to be foreign and romanticized, and is adapted enough to plug in. In turn, bits and pieces of Japanese culture are romanticized and find subpopulations in the West to celebrate them, mostly in not-quite-authentic form. We fool ourselves when we consider ourselves "cultured" from our associations with these things, but we also bring ourselves joy and greater variety in life.

ksec 7y ago

And Korea Put SPAM ( As in the luncheon meat ) in Christmas Gift Box. [1] http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20190122000585 http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20190122000585

goodcanadian 7y ago
Nothing beats the spam musubi in Hawaii. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spam_musubi https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spam_musubi