Why the Japanese eat fried chicken for Christmas and other unique Asian Christmas traditions

There are many interesting Christmas traditions around the world, with most of them centred around feasting with your loved ones over a hearty feast. But did you know that in Japan, instead of a turkey, families would order a bucket of fried chicken to commemorate this festive occasion?

And not just any fried chicken, but KFC’s fried chicken specifically. 

Trust me, we were equally intrigued when we first heard of this unique Asian Christmas tradition. 

It then got us wondering how the rest of the people around us celebrate Christmas and if there were any other unique practices we had yet to uncover.

Don’t believe us? Just ask your friends from these countries! Better yet, invite them for a meal with these special dishes and down it with some refreshing Coca-Cola. 

1. Japan: Fried chicken

To understand why Japanese people eat chicken on Christmas — in particular KFC’s fried chicken — we need to trace it back to KFC’s origin story in Japan. The brand first landed in Nagoya, Japan in 1970. 

Around that time, a KFC Japan team member overheard a customer saying that since they couldn’t get turkey in Japan, they had to celebrate Christmas with KFC. This inspired a ‘Kentucky for Christmas’ marketing campaign in 1974 that became a huge hit. 

Since then, having KFC for Christmas has become a Japanese tradition that carries on till today. Of course it helps that Colonel Sanders looks a bit like Santa himself too, eh?

Want to celebrate Christmas just like the Japanese? 

Get a five-piece chicken buddy meal at 40% off (S$29.95, U.P. S$50) from KFC, via GrabFood. It comes with five pieces of chicken, five hot and crispy tenders and two refreshing cups of Coca-Cola Zero.  

The meal size is great for two and you just need to double it for a bigger party size.

But if you want more to go around and stay with the Japan theme, there’s always Maki-San’s Mega D.I.Y. Merry Chickmas fries meal also at 40% off.

At S$16.10 (U.P. S$26.90), get one sushi roll, one Chickmas fries, with spicy jalapeno nacho sauce on the side, and a Coca-Cola Zero as part of this GrabFood bundle. Feel free to customise your sushi roll to your heart’s desire with over 70 ingredients from its menu. 

2. South Korea: Cakes and desserts

While most countries might see Christmas as a time to gather with family, Christmas is more of a couple’s holiday in South Korea. In fact, it is celebrated more like Valentine’s Day, with many couples opting to go out on a date during this occasion. 

But don’t get us wrong, the holiday is still big in South Korea, with many Yuletide decorations all around the country. 

Whether you’re coupled up or not on this special day, one thing’s for sure when it comes to Korea Christmas traditions: The Koreans love having cakes on Christmas. 

In fact, Koreans are known to spare no expense on luxurious, decadent cakes on this special day. There isn’t a specific reason for this festive tradition, but some say having a Christmas cake as a centrepiece adds to the festive vibes. 

If you’d like a Christmas cake to add to your celebrations, why not order one of Swensen’s many festively decorated ice-cream cakes and add on its Coca-Cola Holidays Special set for one (S$24.41, U.P. S$28.84) to make it a meal?

The set comes with an Ultra burger of your choice, soup of the day and a cup of Coca-Cola. 

Or celebrate Christmas across both Japanese traditions and Korean culture with some Korean fried chicken instead. Nene Chicken’s bulgogi chicken burger buddy meal (S$23, U.P. S$38.60) has everything you could want in a K-feast.

The meal, which can be ordered via GrabFood at 40% off, comes with two Nene bulgogi chicken burgers, two fried tteokbokki and sausage skewers, two curly fries, one corn salad, one pickled radish, and two cans of Coca-Cola to top it all off. 

3. China: Dumplings 

This might come as a surprise to some, but Christmas is not an official public holiday in China. 

In fact, similar to South Korea, Christmas is more of a special day for lovers and friends to head out for a special meal. It is also a widely commercialised holiday, with many sales and promotions being held during this period.

In terms of food, the Chinese don’t have specific Christmas traditions, but a recent trend involves the exchange of apples among friends. This is due to the fact that the Chinese word for apple (ping guo) is similar to the Chinese word for a common Christmas term, silent night (ping an ye). 

Some families also view Christmas as an extended Winter Solstice (the day with the shortest daytime) and celebrate by making and eating dumplings and with glutinous rice balls. 

Thankfully we don’t have short daytimes here in Singapore. 

But if you want to get into the Chinese Christmas tradition swing of things, why not take advantage of Kimly Seafood’s Coca-Cola festive promo at 30% off. 

Get Kimly Seafood’s popular favourites — the twin mushroom dou bao cabbage and the marmite chicken ball, with rice and two Coca-Cola drinks for S$22.05 (U.P. S$33.90). 

4. Singapore — Anything goes 

In Singapore and most of our surrounding neighbouring countries, we don’t quite have food-related traditions around Christmas, but it is a time for gathering with our loved ones and sharing food. 

Make festive planning easier for your parties by getting these bundles with up to 60% off with Coca-Cola, depending on what your party loves — burgers, pizzas, chicken wings, or just a bit of everything. 

a. Burgers

Burger King is offering a festive bundle for two at more than 40% off. 

For S$31.90 (U.P. S$56.45), get two cheesy spinach chicken or beef burgers, one medium onion rings, one five-piece Mexican drumlets, one choco pie, one creme caramel and wash it all down with two Coca-Cola Zeros. 

b. Pizzas

Pizzas are also a great way for feeding many in a fuss-free manner, especially with Pizza Hut’s festive bundle (S$29.95, U.P. S$50), which feeds up to four people.

Get a regular cheesy bite pizza, a personal pan pizza, two sides and your choice of drink to cap it all off. We say nothing like an ice-cold, fizzy bottle of Coca-Cola with pizza, right?

c. Chicken wings

Who doesn’t love chicken wings? The best part is that chicken wings are easily shareable, and with Wingstop’s boneless wings, you don’t even have to worry about the hassle of bones.

It has a Coca-Cola Zero bundle for one going at 40% off. Priced at S$13.20 (U.P. S$22), the set includes seven boneless wings, one cajun fries, one ranch dip and one Coca-Cola Zero. 

d. Wildcard or a bit of everything

If you’re the party planner and everyone’s easy with food, why not just go for the ever-reliable McDonald’s? 

Its S$18 sharing bundle on GrabFood is going at a whopping 60% off (U.P. S$46.45). For less than twenty dollars, get a 20-piece chicken McNuggets, four medium fries and four small Coca-Cola Zeros. Talk about value-for-money! 

Whether you choose to celebrate with chicken, burgers, pizza, or cake, enjoy them with a can of refreshing Coca-Cola by ordering any of the Coca-Cola combo deals above via GrabFood.

For the rest of December, participate in the Coca-Cola Stampcard Challenge on GrabFood to stand a chance to win S$200 worth GrabFood vouchers. All participants also get GrabFood voucher just for taking part. 

Place your orders now on GrabFood. 

This article was written in partnership with Coca-Cola. 

Hungry for more deals? Check out IHG’s festive gourmet offerings and what to get for your friends according to their horoscopes. 

All the stores mentioned for the GrabFood deals are on the GrabFood delivery service and offer free delivery (up to S$3 off) with GrabUnlimited. 

Do explore the new GrabFood Dine-in service for awesome deals.