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[00:00.89] Todd: So Megen we are talking about Holidays and Christmas and in the last interview we talked the difference between Christmas in a cold country and a warm country,

[00:10.89] so now I thought we would talk about Christmas in countries that aren't really Christian countries.

[00:15.39] They don't really celebrate it for religious reasons.

[00:18.64] So we're in Japan and it's interesting that in Japan it's a romantic day, right?

[00:24.63] Megen: Yes. Yeah, it is.

[00:25.64] Todd: It's like Valentine's Day

[00:26.88] Megen: Yes, you have to spend Christmas with your partner.

[00:34.39] Todd: Right, and everybody looks forward to it - to go out on a date and give each other gifts, and yeah.

[00:35.88] Megen: Yeah, yeah, I think the fireworks are for the boyfriend and girlfriend and I think, and I think there are a lot of decorations that are similar to like Valentine's actually.

[00:48.89] Todd: Yeah, it's interesting because they have the Christmas decoration everywhere, but nobody gets the day off. No families celebrate it really.

[00:57.14] Megen: Yeah, it's a regular day.

[00:58.39] Todd: Except eating the chicken dinner, which we talked about -- the fried chicken dinner.

[01:02.64] Yeah, so it's kind of like one of those like I call it a soft holiday.

[01:06.89] Like in America a soft holiday would be St Patrick's Day.

[01:09.39] Like everybody has to go to work but you do something that day related to the holiday even though you have no historical connection to it at all.

[01:17.89] Megen: Ah, I see.

[01:19.14] Todd: So for example on St Patrick's Day you drink green beer and you wear green. Like, do you do that in Australia?

[01:26.39] Megen: Ah, that started to become a thing in Australia that the bars do tend to have green beer, and you have green clothing that you might wear and people go out.

[01:36.89] It's definitely a drinking holiday. Not a holiday though.

[01:41.14] Todd: Right, are there any other holidays that you've absorbed into Australia?

[01:45.89] Megen: Well, people are starting to celebrate Halloween more these days and people take their kids trick or treating.

[01:53.63] Todd: Oh, really?

[01:55.14] Megen: Yeah! Not everyone does it, though I think that some people like to put a sign on their front door to say that trick-or-treaters are welcome because generally,

[02:04.14] we don't do that kind of thing in Australia, but the departments, the department stores are having more decorations and it's definitely infiltrating from America I think.

[02:16.39] Todd: Oh, that's interesting. So, in America Halloween is a big time to have parties. Do you have parties?

[02:20.64] Megen: I think more and more people are having parties.

[02:23.39] They have their own party in their house with decorations and costumes, but it's hard to say how many people celebrate Halloween really.

[02:32.14] Todd: Well, what about costumes? Did you wear a costume?

[02:35.14] Megen: I never wore a costume in Australia. I had never celebrated Halloween, but I noticed that some of my friends, and friends with children, they are celebrating it more, and it's becoming just a chance to have a party and dress up.

[02:52.14] Todd: As an English teacher did you dress up here in Japan?

[02:54.63] Megen: Yes, I did actually. Twice.

[02:56.64] Todd: Oh, you did. Did you like it?

[02:58.64] Megen: I did. It was fun to dress up.

[03:00.64] I dressed up as a character from a Jubilee movie, and it was really good to get together with my friends and to go out. Have you ever dressed up before?

[03:11.14] Todd: Oh, countless times. Countless. Yeah, so as a kid it was a big thing definitely in America.