Christmas nowadays -1-

This is notes for tomorrow, though I'll make a speech in Japanese.
Christmas is just around the corner, I call this week "Christmas week". This time I'll re-think the Christmas week in Japan, to the past, nowadays and in the future.
Long, Long time ago, oh, it's a joke, when I was a child, I was looking forward to eating a round decorated cake with my family, and getting some presents. When my mother cut it into some pieces, my brothers and I would argue always about the size. Cake was special sweet, and especially a whole round cake was special. And butter cream was common, now fresh cream is usual. We had big (but Japanese-sized) gas oven so my mother grilled chicken. Cake and chicken were the perfect feast for us. But I don't remember the phrase " Santa will come tonight!". We were not Christians, but I went to a Christian kindergarten at that time. So I remember playing Christmas pageant, singing some Christmas carols. But they were not strict Christian kindergarten. I think, at that time, Santa was not popular.

I'm not sure, since when Santa has got so popular like nowadays. But I had told to my daughters "You've been good girls, so Santa will come tonight. Let's make big socks of newspaper". Newspaper was enough big, and and really suitable to make socks easily, quickly with glue for them. The scenes were recorded on the video. On 25th morning as soon as they got up, they ran down to check the socks with joy. And on 25th, I baked a round cake and decorated it with fresh cream. And my husband bought chicken at KFC. (At that time, KFC was really popular. Additionally, when my daughters were high school students, some of their friends word part time job at KFC, so we had to have KFC chicken murmuring about the calorie.)

Anyway Christmas was a family event, now my daughters enjoy their Christmas with their friends now, and hew year celebration has been our relation's event.