Recently (最近), I have been talking to my students about Christmas and New Year's. I noticed (気づく) that there are a lot of small differences:
In Japan, Christmas is a romantic holiday, but in Canada, it is a family holiday. I never went on a Christmas date when I was in Canada. Also, many restaurants and hotels are closed, so there are no dinner shows. We are happy to spend time with our family on Christmas.
Most Japanese people celebrate (お祝いする）Christmas Eve more than Christmas Day. In Canada, my family didn't do anything special on Christmas Eve - no special dinner, no presents, no nothing. The only thing we did was go for a drive and look at Christmas lights. We exchanged (交換する） presents and ate dinner on Christmas day.
Also, chicken is not a Christmas food in Canada. We eat turkey (七面鳥）, and we don't go to Kentucky Fried Chicken (ケンタッキー）.
Adults get Christmas presents in Canada. I still look forward (楽しみにする) to getting a nice present from my parents and some relatives (親戚)!
New Year's is the opposite (反対）of Christmas in Canada. It is a time to go out and drink with your friends. Many people look forward to (楽しみにする）drinking champagne and having a romantic kiss at midnight on New Year's Eve （大晦日）. We usually spend New Year's day recovering (回復する） from a hangover (二日酔い）!
Many Japanese people clean the house for New Year's. In Canada, it's a time for relaxing, so we don't think about cleaning. We do "spring cleaning" instead (代わりに）. After the long, cold winter, we need to clean the house and let in some fresh air.
Happy Holidays!
