Jeepney Press November-December 2019 Issue

A Tale of Two Christmases: Personal Reflections on Celebrating Christmas in Japan and the Philippines by Yellowbelle Duaqui

Having spent four Christmases in Japan during my graduate student years in Sophia University in central Tokyo from 2008 to 2011 and during a research fellowship in the same university from October 2018 to May 2019 allowed me to experience Christmas in two societies -- Japan and the Philippines.

As a Filipino Catholic, I am able to feel the spirit of Christmas by hearing the Christmas Mass on December 25th or the nine-day Misa de Gallo from December 16th until the 24th, sharing a meal with family members during the Noche Buena on Christmas eve, listening to Christmas carols, giving gifts, engaging in charity works, and joining reunion parties with family and kin, school mates and company gatherings. Like me, I know that a typical Filipino, whether born and raised in the city or in the province, celebrate Christmas this way.

Being away from home as a Filipino graduate student in Japan in 2008, I celebrated Christmas at the foreign student dormitory in Setagaya Ward, together with other foreign students. While some students organized a ski trip to the Japanese Alps in Nagano and Niigata Prefectures, I opted to join other students who trooped to sites in Tokyo with winter illumination like Shinjuku, Roppongi, Shibuya, Shiodome, and Ebisu. I found winter illumination in Tokyo very magical and enchanting. With the usual blue and white combo, Christmas lights in Tokyo are minimalistic but chic. This is, of course, a departure from Filipino-style Christmas illumination, which usually involves an explosion of many colors. While meandering in Tokyo’s illuminated streets taught me that subtlety in color meant soulfulness, class and sophistication, Manila’s lighted thoroughfares on Christmas reminds me of crackling joy and infectious laughter.

As a Catholic, my soul yearns to hear Mass on Christmas day. I experienced this in Seijo Catholic Church in Setagaya Ward, in Saint Ignatius Church in Yotsuya and in the Franciscan Chapel Center in Roppongi, where I appreciated the way Japanese Catholics quietly heard Mass, read their own liturgy booklets, and respectfully bowed before the altar. I also experienced hearing Christmas Mass in Tagalog at Koiwa Church and Matsudo Church, where Filipino compatriots would kindly offer and share Filipino food and play Christmas carols, making every Filipino migrant newcomer feel so welcome.

In December 2008, perhaps because it was my first experience of winter, I went down with flu and was unable to leave my dorm room. A Filipina friend, who lives right across the dorm, texted me to check up on me and found out I was sick. With her Japanese-Filipino kid in tow, she visited me in the dorm and brought me hot soup. From there, I recovered and was able to enjoy Christmas in Tokyo with her family. Together, we went to Sensoji in Asakusa during O-Shogatsu (New Year’s Day), and I was again amazed at the Japanese people and foreigners in Tokyo at how disciplined and how solemnly they all lined up to pay respect at this Buddhist temple. We then rode the Himiko, a futuristic Tokyo cruise ship designed by Japanese manga artist Leiji Matsumoto, from Asakusa to Odaiba Seaside Park.

At this point, with the friends I’ve made in Tokyo, spending Christmas in Japan is as meaningful as spending Christmas in the Philippines. The spirit of Christmas, after all, is all about an encounter with the Lord in our own unique and meaningful ways, whether at home or abroad.