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東京の・・・クリスマス?
クリスマスは、神の子であるイエス・キリストが人間として生まれたことをお祝いする、宗教上の記念日。それが日本ではいつからか独自に味付けされて、特にカップルにとっての一大事となってしまったが、さて日本のクリスマス、筆者の目にはどう映っているのだろうか。
Christmas in, um, Tokyo?
If the Emperor was not born near Christmas, I'm not sure most foreigners in Japan would have a holiday. So, I'll thank him for that. That nicely timed birthday allows teachers like me, and many other foreigners who live in Japan, to take some time off at what is, in the Christianized Western world anyway, one of the most sacrosanct of holidays.
Christmas in Tokyo, though, takes on a flavor all its own. As an American, Tokyo's Christmas always has an odd feeling for me -- half right, half confusing and maybe another half (if that's possible) intriguing!
The secular side of Christmas involves plenty of shopping, and few countries do consumerism better than Japan. Stores, walkways and advertisements are festooned with whatever Christmas imagery can be packed in. It's not just to make money, though. Tokyo loves dressing up in anything, so draping itself in silver tinsel, fir trees, fake frost and cotton is just one more costume.
In America, Christmas is about being with family and friends, but I love that Christmas in Tokyo has become an important date night. My students gossip, moan or blush about their Christmas plans. Hotels offer lavish overnight packages, with dinner, champagne and a room with a night view of the city. That sounds a lot better than watching football on TV to me.
At restaurants, special Christmas set courses are the norm. This always confuses me a bit as ordering a variety of things and piecing them together is part of the fun of a holiday meal out. However, Christmas is the one night throughout Tokyo where you can never order a la carte. Instead, restaurants compete to put together the snazziest and most innovative meals they can. Reservations are hard to get.
However, the sights and sounds of Christmas in Tokyo jar me a bit. When Tokyo shopkeepers put on Santa hats and reindeer ears, it feels a bit forced, even when the shopkeepers are cute and enthusiastic. The same Christmas songs flow into my ears, but feel a bit out of place. Hearing Jingle Bells without seeing snow just doesn't work.
The end-of-year lights, or illumination, often show Santa Claus, North Pole elves and reindeer crammed in right next to gothic arches and other non-Christmas shapes -- no one ever accused Tokyo of visual consistency! Still, coherent or not, lights are always a pleasure in the darkest season.
Whatever oddness the season in Tokyo presents to those who grew up in Christmas-celebrating countries, one thing is for sure, Christmas helps infuse the mundane workaday life with a sense of fun. Maybe that's what Christmas was always really about: transforming the bleakness of winter into something magical and festive.
- nicely timed
- タイミングのいい
- take some time off
- 少し休暇を取る
- Christianized
- キリスト教化された
- sacrosanct
- 神聖で犯すことのできない
- takes on a flavor all its own
- 全く独自の趣きがある
- odd
- 風変わりな
- intriguing
- 興味をそそる
- secular
- 非宗教的な
- consumerism
- 消費主義、大量消費
- are festooned with 〜
- 〜で飾られる
- imagery
- イメージ
- be packed in
- 詰め込まれる
- dressing up in 〜
- 〜で飾り立てること
- draping itself in 〜
- 〜をまとうこと
- tinsel
- ティンセル(⇒ぴかぴか光る細い金属や紙などでできた装飾)
- fir trees
- モミの木
- gossip
- うわさ話をする
- moan
- 嘆く
- blush
- 顔を赤らめる
- lavish
- 豪華な
- overnight packages
- 一泊のパッケージプラン
- champagne
- シャンパン
- norm
- 標準
- piecing them together
- それらを組み合わせる
- holiday meal out
- 休日の外食
- a la carte
- アラカルトの料理
- put together
- 〜を作り出す
- snazziest
- 最もおしゃれで魅力的な
- jar
- 〜に不快感を与える
- reindeer
- トナカイ
- forced
- 無理強いの
- out of place
- 場違いな
- North Pole elves
- 北極の妖精
- gothic arches
- ゴシックアーチ
- visual consistency
- 見た目の一貫性
- coherent
- 一貫性のある
- infuse 〜 with 〜
- 〜に〜を吹き込む
- mundane
- 平凡な
- bleakness
- わびしさ
- festive
- お祭り気分の