After all was said and done: festivities concluded, leftovers consumed, the last of the spirits for the occasion imbibed, and the gaudy paper representing the country's take on the holiday all gathered into the appropriate recycling container, the former denizens of the Nether Realm had to admit that this Christmas thing had something going for it.
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As the winter months had approached, life had seemed almost to be returning to some sort of normalcy for the occupants of one increasingly crowded mansion nestled in Kanagawa. After the hectic summer months, everyone had been on their toes, expecting another conflict to arise. But things had stayed almost achingly dull as the cicadas blared loudly in the heat, and once the Ronins had been forced to return to their studies, the Warlords had spent their time leisurely exploring the much changed world. Having been shown the basics of public transportation, they had managed to explore much of the Tokyo area, though several districts had caused confusion, and Sekhmet had even managed to find himself a job quite unexpectedly.
One particularly slow day towards the beginning of December, Kayura had convinced the Warlords to go down to some department stores (she had, much to the chagrin of the males, been an easy convert into the world of bargain shopping), and they had returned in the evening, laden with packages and questions about the curiosities they had seen. Bright colorful lights were strung up throughout the stores, and oddly dressed mannequins sported red with white trim and golden bells. What manner of festival was this, they had inquired, that caused such a commotion in the world of retail, and had inspired funny fat men with white beards to stand beside bags of colored boxes in such strange clothing?
The Ronins had laughed, and over dinner attempted to explain what, exactly, Christmas was. Kento had explained, in great depths and with no small amount of salivating, all of the different foods that were particularly prominent for the season, like the infamous fried chicken, and especially the Christmas Cake. Rowen had gone into a lengthy and detailed discussion of the long history of the holiday's multiple parts, from the birth of Christ and the eventual Christian holiday that was celebrated at the same time as Pagan winter festivals in Europe, to the arrival of the concept on the shores of Japan, where it was banned during the anti-Western movements, and eventually regained popularity in the mid-1900's as a major commercial affair. (Here he referenced both KFC and Kento's beloved cake as an example, and was swiftly punched in the arm.) Sage had done his best to explain the seasonal music, and why, in particular, Japan had decided that 'Daiku' was the national Christmas anthem, so to speak. He also answered Dais' questions as to the nature of characters such as Rudolph and Frosty, which had segued nicely for Sai and Ryo to team up and explain the especially Warlord-puzzling concepts of Santa Claus and Hoeiosho. Why a fat man wanted to give gifts to children all over the world, and how anyone believed that he could do it all in one night, to top it off, was apparently a hard thing to absorb, though Sai had pointed out that most people probably would find it hard to believe that the Warlords were from another century, and had been living in a demon realm, or that any of them possessed mystical armor either, and no one had a counter to that.
And so the weather grew chilly, though Kale had lamented the lack of snow, pointing out that the pictures on the television always seemed to have it, and December plodded along, seeing the Ronins onto their brief winter hiatus, the decoration of the mansion, and a small pile of presents, some more crudely wrapped than others, growing beneath a quaint tree that was nestled between the fireplace and the stairs. Kento and Sai had gone into town the Sunday before Christmas (leaving behind a rather irritated Kayura who had wanted a chance at the early morning sales) and purchased an abundance of food in preparation for the big day, and upon their return, Kento had grabbed some wrapping supplies and thundered upstairs, locking the door to his room.
Mia flew in late on Christmas Eve, taking a taxi out to the house, and was warmly greeted by all with hugs and a mug of hot cocoa. The next day, as silly as the Warlords had claimed the concept of magical men delivering presents to be, found them downstairs just a little ahead of everyone else, with Dais sticking his head up into the fireplace for evidence. Someone had left them each a neatly wrapped box with their names elegantly written out on tags, and though they eyed everyone suspiciously, the Ronins couldn't help but chuckle at the child-like gleam in the eyes of these 'first Christmas' kids. They tore away the paper and revealed ornately decorated sake sets, each conveniently themed in the respective Warlords' colors. Apparently, Kayura had quipped wryly, this Santa character had a sense of humor. The grand spectacle of unwrapping began as everyone crowded around the tree, and within an hour, the floor was nowhere to be found in that part of the room. As each of the merrymakers took stock of their gifts, Mia got up to check the main course in the oven and start the other preparations. Sai followed after to help, suggesting to Kento that, while he appreciated the offer of further assistance, perhaps his attention was best spent elsewhere. Then, with a wink, he disappeared through the doors.
An hour or so later, offers for assistance were made by the Warlords, and they were set to work cleaning the disaster area around the tree and putting dishes out on the table. Kayura went to help with last minute preparations in the kitchen, and in a short while the Ronins were roped into helping carry out all the food. Kento seemed keen on pointing out where things should be placed, but no one was blind to the fact the his finger never strayed far from the space in front of his seat.
The Warlords were a bit taken aback by the sheer amount of food before them, but didn't hesitate to try a little of everything. Everyone told stories of what foods had traditions behind them, often family ones, and the guests were quick and prolific in their compliments to the chefs. With conversation floating through the air, dinner went at a pleasant, slow pace, even for the more voracious eaters (Kento found that he and Dais had another rivalry: mashed potatoes), and as the tell-tale clatter of utensils on plates overcame the sound of happy chewing, Mia disappeared into the kitchen, reemerging with a cake. Everyone laughed at Kento's excited cheer, and the Warlords finally got to taste this infamous Christmas Cake of Japan.
The night continued on, a warm and happy haze, topped off after dessert with the breaking in of each of the Warlords' new presents from Santa. After they were all settled down around the couches (one of which the boys had dragged from the other end of the room, and both of which had been positioned facing the fireplace), the Ronins inquired what impressions the first-timers had about the holiday, now that they'd experienced it. It had stayed silent a moment, save for the crackling of the fire and a pop from the log, as the five stared into the flames thoughtfully. Though their minds wandered slightly different paths, each took note of the same things. The time with friends, essentially family, and happy memories they now had and looked forward to falling asleep remembering.
After all was said and done, they had to admit that this Christmas thing definitely had something going for it.
*Japanese Christmas Traditions:
The Japanese celebrate Christmas a bit differently than the West, and I've tried my best to incorporate all that I was able to research on the subject into this story. -Christmas is, like most Western adapted holidays, a giant ball of commercialism. A very tiny percentage of the Japanese population is Christian (most are Buddhist and Shinto), so even though decorations featuring the Nativity may be seen throughout department stores, most Japanese probably couldn't give you the story (not that a lot of Americans nowadays can either :P).
-Christmas cakes are a big tradition. Living near a Japanese bakery, I actually got to try one this year, and I enjoyed it. Similar to other cakes I've had from there, it is a very airy sponge cake, with a light whipped cream-type frosting, thinly sliced fruit inside, and strawberries on top. They decorated it with a plastic 'Merry Christmas', a plastic sprig of holly, and a little Santa. In Japan they are typically picked up on Christmas Eve. Any unsold cakes are marked down dramatically the day after Christmas.
-KFC got on the bandwagon a while back, marketing itself as 'traditional' Christmas food. Around the holiday, you can see the colonel standing proudly outside his establishment all decked out in red and white.
-The Daiku is Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.
-Hoeiosho is a Buddhist monk who delivers gifts to children. He's not as marketable as Santa Claus, though, so he's not mentioned nearly so much.
-New Years is a huge deal in Japan, so while Christmas is certainly to be found, it is very strongly overshadowed by the next week's events.