Shopping Guide
Throughout the year, various festivals are held in Japan similar to America. Japan recently began celebrating Halloween in October, and when December nears, many Japanese can’t wait for Christmas. However, Japan has also influenced one of North America’s biggest holidays: Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is a national holiday primarily celebrated in the United States and Canada. During Lincoln’s presidency, a set date for Thanksgiving was established; that date is the fourth Thursday of November. Often, Wednesday through Friday of Thanksgiving week are considered days off, and thus, can create a four to five day weekend.
During the Thanksgiving season, there are many events held in America. A very popular one is the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, which is held each Thanksgiving in Manhattan, New York. People throughout North America watch the parade Thanksgiving morning on live television. Did you know that there is a float of a character that is related to Japanese pop culture used in the parade? That character is none other than the lovable Pikachu! That’s right, Pikachu himself soars through the sky of Manhattan, and he is gigantic!
As you may already know, Pokemon is hugely popular not only in Japan but also in America. Pikachu is especially famous. The Pikachu float has become a yearly tradition for the parade.
This article contains translated excerpts from:
http://animeanime.jp/article/2012/11/22/12139.html (Japanese)
