Christmas in Japan is Valentine's Day Take 2, a second chance for everyone who spent February 14 alone. On December 24 and 25, the Japanese do not gather as a family and do not pray in church, but go on dates. Popular restaurants are booked months in advance, and those that are simpler-weeks in advance. It even happens that single Japanese people book a table in the summer - just in case they suddenly have time to meet the love of their life before December, or at least smatchnut with a charming one-day girl on a dating site. Better safe than sorry -- folk wisdom without borders.