For many people in Japan, KFC is the centerpiece of the Christmas celebration.
Every year for Christmas, 3.5 million Japanese families opt for KFC, according to an Instagram clip he shared BBC.
According to British news outlets, customers are lining up around the neighborhood to get their hands on the festive fast food, with some even pre-ordering their meals as early as October. Fried chicken is meant to be a nod to the roast turkey dinner that many cultures partake in for holiday dinners.
Christmas is not universally celebrated in Japan — only about 1% of the population identifies as Christian, although many celebrate it as a secular holiday season. Some minority groups who celebrate Christmas treat it like Valentine’s Day and lean towards romance BBC reporter Tyler Edwards, while others go the crunchier route.
KFC’s tradition dates back to 1970, when the first KFC opened in Japan, said a KFC Japan spokesperson. BBC In 2016, the manager of that first restaurant, Takeshi Okawara, reportedly overheard several foreigners lamenting that they didn’t have a turkey on Christmas Day, prompting him to come up with the idea of a Christmas “party barrel.” So in 1974 he started Kurisumasu ni wa Kentakkii, or “Kentucky for Christmas,”: the tradition of eating KFC on December 24th.
KFC Christmas meal.
Yuichi Yamazaki/Getty
Christmas traditions have grown, from simple buckets of fried chicken to today’s Kentucky Christmas dinner packages with chicken, shrimp au gratin, cake and more. The holiday cheer extended beyond food, when KFC’s Colonel Sanders (who shares his white hair and beard with Santa Claus) began donning red and white suits around Christmas.
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There is exciting news about KFC in the US as well.
A brand new chicken-centric restaurant called Saucy opened in Orlando on Monday, December 23rd.
Unlike typical KFC restaurants, which sell everything from fried chicken nuggets to chicken nuggets and sandwiches, the new venture focuses on crispy chicken. The tenders come with a choice of 11 signature sauces — a nod to the leading 11 herbs and spices in the chicken coating.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education