Thanksoween

The Rising Family™ has been in holiday hoedown mode the last month or so. Canadian Thanksgiving on the second weekend of October was the spark. 

The traditional, and ideal, Thanksgiving meal

Our reality--and lucky to have it!

We adapted our festive feasting because we don't have an oven large enough to cook a turkey. Instead, the bird we devoured was a Costco roast chicken augmented by homemade mashed potatoes, fresh veggies, and apple pie and ice cream. Not 100% the “real thing” but tasty enough. What was the same was gratitude for our good fortune. Also unchanged was lambasting each other at the dinner table.

Now it’s Halloween. It’s another holiday that underlines Japan’s habit of absorbing and transforming cultural traditions from abroad and making them fun and unique to its own culture. All that without the drama of tradition or religious meaning. To be sure, Japan’s “Labor Thanksgiving Day”  in late November doesn’t jibe with the North American version of Thanksgiving. It’s a nondescript holiday where people say thanks to their parents for their work. Be that as it may, I’m waiting for some savvy local marketers to turn that holiday into something quirky that fits the local lifestyle. I’m sure there are many Japanese who’ve lived in the U.S. or Canada and would like to see a localized version of Thanksgiving. That would mesh well with the homespun varieties of Halloween, Christmas, and Valentine’s Day which are very popular.

I don’t recall large Halloween celebrations when I arrived in Japan over two decades ago, except for foreigners getting together to party. Then again, it’s increasingly welcomed as a good excuse to rev up the costumes and have fun in public, so why not? I suspect the geniuses at Tokyo Disneyland brought in the idea and local companies saw opportunity knocking. It probably caught on first in the Tokyo area, with its many foreign resident enclaves. The annual big cosplay/Halloween parade in Shibuya added spice to enable its further spread elsewhere.

I do recall seeing a Christmas tree festooned with pumpkins at a local mall around 2014. I duly called it the “Christmaween” period between Halloween and Christmas.

Credit/Courtesy of Eric Fell/Instagram

So why not keep that creative vibe going with a new "Thanksoween" hybrid holiday? Just merge them and keep the party going. Eat a huge feast in a costume. That could work!

The way I see it, Western culture and traditions are great and come to us naturally because we grew up with them. I try to husband them in our household so Lady E. and M. grasp the spirit, emotion and traditions of the western half of their makeup through holiday celebrations. That these holidays can sometimes veer in a kooky way when integrating with Japanese norms yields harmless and heartwarming results—for everyone. Traditions are great and it’s OK to do something different. Anything that brings people together and offers some joy is the whole point.

When I see a Japanese version of Kwanzaa or Hannukah, then I’ll know Japan has jumped the shark, holiday-wise. Wait for it! 😏

Happy Thanksoween!

Ed. notes: 

- Today is also the general election for the Japan’s House of Representatives. The vote will decide if the current LDP government will continue to lead with single-party majority, or not. Either way, democracy in action.

- It’s also the opening day of the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland. Let’s hope the Powers That Be continue efforts to improve our climate plans so the planet doesn’t become a horror show for future generations. Just marking the date for posterity.

 

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