Christmas is one of the most widely celebrated holidays in the world, officially observed in more than 160 countries. While traditions vary from region to region, certain customs — exchanging gifts, decorating Christmas trees, or preparing treats for Santa Claus — are globally recognized. Yet few places celebrate the holiday quite like Japan, where eating Kentucky Fried Chicken at Christmas has become a unique national tradition.
Food is central to Christmas celebrations around the world, but one dish you rarely find on a traditional holiday table is Kentucky Fried Chicken. In most countries, going to KFC to pick up a bucket of fried chicken and mashed potatoes for Christmas Eve is not a common tradition — except in Japan. Here, for more than forty years, KFC has become a true Christmas symbol and the most popular choice for Christmas Eve dinner. Far from being just a seasonal product, it has grown into one of Japan’s most iconic modern holiday customs.
How did KFC Become a Christmas Tradition in Japan?
When uncovering the mystery of how KFC came to be Japan’s leading Christmas meal option, it’s necessary to look beyond the Colonel’s secret blend of 11 herbs and spices and travel back to the early 1970s.
Expats in Japan were a comparative rarity back then, as was food that catered to typically Western diets. KFC had arrived in Japan in Nagoya on November 21, 1970, as a subsidiary of the Mitsubishi Corporation. But it wasn’t until KFC landed in Tokyo in July the following year that its popularity started to take hold. Much like other elements of adopted Western culture, it was young Tokyoites who took an interest in the idea of cool American food, cool American store, and cool decor. By 1974, KFC’s presence was well-established. Ironically, it wasn’t what expats themselves wanted, especially come holiday time.
This is when the story of KFC in Japan at Christmas takes a turn into folklore. As the tale goes, Takeshi Okawara, the first manager of KFC in Japan, overheard some foreigners in his store complaining about Japan’s lack of food for Christmas dinner. That night, it seemed that St. Nick himself gave Okawara a pre-Christmas visit because Okawara claims he had a vision of a KFC “party barrel” in his sleep.
Fast forward to 1984 and Okawara became CEO of KFC, a post he held until 2002. His Christmas dinner vision of substituting fowl for fowl – turkey for chicken – turned into a lucrative business that resulted in 3.6 million Japanese people eating KFC every Christmas.
What started as a single wine-and-chicken combo has evolved into a massive array of choices that people pre-order and line up for out into the streets. Commonly called kentakkii in Japan, KFC has become part and parcel of the fabric of Christmas in Japan.
Wrap Up Christmas Nostalgia in a KFC Meal Set
At present, even people who’ve never bought a single party barrel (yes, it’s still an item), or any kind of KFC Christmas meal whatsoever, still align KFC with the Christmas season. In the case of one young university student I spoke to, he believed that even if KFC’s success was nothing more than a mere marketing ploy, it didn’t change his sense of nostalgia. KFC, he says, has “some Western feeling to it,” which makes it feel more authentically Christmas, even though it’s not eaten as a standard holiday meal in the West. As a child growing up in the countryside, families still drove through the snow to the nearest KFC, 40 kilometers away to pick up their fried chicken order.
Plus, people tend to be extremely busy in Japan, and don’t have time to cook an enormous, extravagant dinner. Christmas is not a national holiday, and there’s no guarantee that one would get that day off of work. This is exactly why Christmas KFC in Japan also works: it’s not really about the chicken, it’s about coming together as a family to enjoy the meal (while saving time in the process). Hence the barrel-sized orders in a country well-known for its generally reserved food portions.
How a KFC Jingle Came to Rival Jingle Bells
When talking to Japanese people about KFC at Christmas time, the first thing to come up time and again is the KFC Christmas song, simply titled Nice Holiday.
More of a jingle than a song, Nice Holiday holds sway over the hearts of the Japanese public in a way that Jingle Bells does for us. As stated by numerous Japanese people I spoke to: “When I hear that song, I know it’s Christmas time.” For those in their 20s to their 50s, the song triggers an outpouring of emotion and childhood nostalgia that nearly brings people to tears.
A compilation of the commercials that feature the song can be found on YouTube. The commercials feature shots of smiling friends and family members cut atop a mosaic of western Christmas iconography, including Christmas trees, jingle bells, snowy bluster, people in sweaters and scarves – all topped off with handoffs of giant buckets of chicken to customers from KFC cashiers. In short, KFC is part of the DNA of Christmas in Japan because it was one of the main gateways to help usher these symbolic holiday elements into the country.
What are the KFC Menu Options for Christmas?
After the song, is the seasonal transformation of the Colonel himself. Late in the year, Colonel Sanders will appear in a Christmas hat on posters at KFC locations, and his statue outside will be dressed in a Santa Claus costume. As soon as this happens, it’s time for people to start making Christmas plans and put in their orders.
Preparation for Christmas sales starts in July, and customers can typically place orders at the beginning of November. About 40% of holiday customers take advantage of this option and place their orders to beat the rush (and get a discount in the process). From December 23 to the 25, KFC makes 1/3 of its annual sales in Japan.
Menu options are typically split into the aforementioned party barrels and Christmas packs. Party barrels are either “original” or “variety,” referring to the type of chicken and come with a salad and a cake. Christmas packs are generally a cheaper option and consist only of chicken with no sides. The variety of chicken comes in an original flavor, chicken nuggets, chicken fingers, and barbecue chicken. Sides are available whether they be more chicken, cake, or salad. All in all, 300,000 party barrels and 800,000 Christmas packs make their way home every year to the inevitably greasy fingers of families.
As the influx of pictures on Instagram attests, KFC at Christmas time is no small affair. Every detail of the food, especially its presentation and appearance, is meant to be impeccable, even classy. This might be a startling contradiction for any non-Japanese people who think of KFC as greasy, cheap food, but in Japan, it’s just as normal as cookies and milk for Santa.
Japan has a long tradition of borrowing elements from different cultures and adapting them to its own taste, and Christmas is no exception. In this context, KFC has become an extremely important part of the holiday season. One could dismiss the phenomenon as a simple marketing operation, but in truth, how many modern holidays haven’t been shaped by consumerism? What truly matters is the chance to enjoy special moments with loved ones, in whatever way feels most natural. And in Japan, for many people, Christmas simply isn’t Christmas without Kentucky Fried Chicken. Alongside the festive street illuminations and shop signs advertising seasonal products, Colonel Sanders himself helps create unforgettable Christmas memories year after year.
The original article was written in 2020 and was modified by Stefania Da Pont in 2025.
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