Japanese elementary students and their ideas about Christmas.

I had an elementary visit yesterday which included a "viking" lunch and then teaching 2 sixth grade classes. Santa even came to lunch and gave out candy! (it was a 6th grader in a Santa suit, but it was fantastic. He came in and said Merry Christmas! (meri kurisumasu!) and then he and his elves gave candy to everyone!) It was actually a lot of fun, and then in the classes, part of the lesson was me telling the students about Christmas in America. Things really got interesting at that point! Bear with me here, this post will be very long and ramble-y.

First, I held up a little figure of Santa. And asked "who is this?" "SANTAAAAA!!!" Ok so they know Santa.

Then I asked where Santa lives. "Australia!" "Finland!" "Russia!" "Hokkaido" (hokkaido is the northern most island of Japan thats really snowy.) Ok, so they do not know where Santa lives. I told them the North Pole, and then took out my picture of the globe which I should point out, has a clip art of the North pole (as in an actual pole) badly glued on top. Also, the North Pole is the height as the US.

Third, I held up a reindeer and asked "whats this?" They all answered with "deer" but in Japanese, so when I said reindeer they got really confused. I probably should have explained that they are only called reindeer when referring to the ones that fly at Christmas. Oh well. After practicing reindeer, I asked "how many reindeer does Santa have?" (had to translate this question) Here is the conversation that followed:
"one"
"more than that!"
"twenty"
"less than that"
"four! three!"
"more than that"
"eight!"
"Yes! He has eight reindeer!"
(kid raises his hand) "Why does Santa need eight reindeer?" (in japanese)

I also thought it would be fun to tell them the reindeers' names. (keep in mind that the "a" sound they have here is like the "a" in "all" rather than the "a" in "apple" "Dasher!" "Dashaa" "Dancer!" "Dansaa" "Prancer!" "Pransaa" "Vixen!" "Bikusen!" "Comet!" "Comet!" "Cupid!" "Cupid" "Donder!" "Dondaa" "Blitzen!" "Buritsen!" That was fun though. The second time through the pronunciation got a lot better. The elementary kids are actually really able to pronounce things correctly once they hear them enough times.

Next, Santa gives presents to children. He puts them under the Christmas tree.
student: "Does he wrap them in a sock?" (In Japan, presents are put into socks, and then onto pillows.
"No he uses wrapping paper."
"Why does he put them under the tree?"
"Because the tree is by the chimney. Santa comes into the house through the chimney." (had to translate)
THEN, the homeroom teacher, asked them how many of their houses have chimneys. None. So he said in Japanese, "Oh, sorry, if you don't have a chimney, Santa can't come to your house!"
Students "eeeeeeehhh?!?!" (the usual Japanese sound of surprise... its like an elongated "eh" not like the letter e elongated, if that makes sense. It is also something that has started to creep its way into my daily use too.)

I also decided to tell them that children in America write to Santa and tell him what they want for Christmas. So I explained in English, and then in Japanese. I gave a sample letter. I pretended to be writing and said "Santa-san e, watashi wa, chokoreto ke-ki ga hoshii." ("Dear Santa, I want chocolate cake.") And then a kid raises his hand "Why would you ask for chocolate cake?"

Ok, next, "what do we eat in America for Christmas?"
"fried chicken!"
"No, we do not eat fried chicken." (I do realize that some people in the US might eat fried chicken, but I was trying to make a point...)
"cake!"
"No, we do not eat cake."
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHH?!?!?!?!?!?!" (Note, in Japan, "Christmas Cake" is very important. its not just like any old cake that they eat on Christmas. They specially order a "Christmas Cake." They eat it after their Kentucky Fried Chicken dinner, which they also pre-order and pick up on Christmas day.)
"We eat turkey or ham, potatoes, vegetables, and bread! Families eat together, and they can make anything they want!!"

Finally, I asked them what Santa's favorite food is. I said children give Santa one food and one drink and had them guess.
"fried chicken!"
"cake!"
"PEKING DUCK!" (my favorite answer of the day)

They were having a hard time with this, so I gave some hints.
"its round."
"....?"
"its sweet"
"SUGAR!" (completely ignoring the round, which I know they understood)
"its round and sweet"
"CAKE!" (completely ignoring that I had already said no to cake. At least cake is round and sweet."
So I gave up and told them cookies, and then asked about a drink:

"Champagne!"
"Whiskey!"
"Beer!"
"Sake!"
"Cola!"
"Orange juice!"
ok, hint time "you drink it every day with school lunch!"
"MILK!"

Alright, so we got to milk and cookies, and then my other favorite moment of the day happened. The homeroom teacher asked me (in Japanese) who eats the cookies. So I looked at him and I said (still in Japanese) "Santa eats them" he was like "no, I mean, Santa is not real, so do the children eat the cookies?" I looked at him, totally serious and said "Santa-san wa, imasu yo!" (Santa is real, you know!) haha, so the whole class laughed. And then later, he asked me if all Americans believe in Santa, so I had to clarify that its just small children and that mom or dad or someone eats the cookies so when the kids come down in the morning the plate and glass are empty.

Alright, so ended my adventure of telling Japanese 6th graders about Christmas in America. I am sure that I told them things that are not true for all of the US, but I was just trying to show that its pretty different from Japan. If you made it all the way to the end of this blog entry, I commend you. I do realize it's pretty choppy and hard to follow so nice going. Feel free to ask for clarifications. And remember, next time you want something really awesome from Santa, forget the milk and cookies. Leave him some Peking Duck and a bottle of champagne.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!