Christmas has had a long and interesting history in Japan. The first Japanese Christmas might have taken place as early as the 1500s, thanks to St. Francis Xavier, but the holiday became more popular in the 1960s. Since then, Japan has developed its own unique traditions.
Unlike the West, for example, Christmas is considered a romantic holiday for adults, with New Years' being more of a family event. It makes sense that Japanese media, including anime and manga stories, would often feature the Christmas holiday in some shape or form.
10 Sgt. Frog: "The Space Frog Who Stole Christmas!"
Over the years, there have been various Christmas stories about not-so-nice people being touched by the magic of the season, from the Grinch to Ebeneezer Scrooge, and this anime sends a similar story.
Sgt. Keroro, an alien invader who serves as the main character of the series, plans to take over the world on Christmas, believing the holiday would be the perfect distraction, only for his comrades to get too swept up in the holiday anyway. Upon learning about Santa Claus, however, he realizes he needs to get on his good list and helps give out presents. The second half of the story also revolves around the characters having to clean up after the holiday.
9 Ojamajo Doremi: "Help Santa!"
This anime would have quite a few Christmas episodes, but the first one features the apprentice witches befriending and helping an old man who turns out to be Santa Claus himself. Traveling to Santa Land, they have to pull all their magic together to help, especially since the youngest witch, Pop, is too young to stay up and help.
Busy with a concert and interview, Onpu is having a lonely Christmas but decides to have a happy holiday by helping the girls with their plans. The girls even end up getting a reward from the Witch Queen for their efforts.
8 Sally The Witch: "Here Comes Santa Claus"
The third episode of this classic magical girl anime series was a Christmas episode called "Here Comes Santa Claus," like the famous song.
Sally, a witch and princess from the magical kingdom of Astoria, learns about Christmas from her friends and shares in the celebrations, only to meet a poor girl named Mariko whose father is too sick to help her celebrate the holiday. Luckily, Sally uses her powers to give Mariko a Christmas surprise.
7 Flowering Heart: "Strawberry Cream Cake Of Friendship"
Flowering Heart is a Japanese and South Korean co-production, so it's only natural that it would have a Christmas episode, since Christmas is an official public holiday in South Korea. In this series, a group of magical girls solves problems to foil the schemes of the evil queen of Flowering Kingdom.
In this two-part Christmas-themed episode, the villains attack the town's Christmas celebrations, so the girls have to use their powers to repair the damage, which includes making a giant edible Christmas tree. Viewers also get to see how Suha, who has been feeling distant from the other girls, first met the girls and learned to be more confident with herself.
6 Wedding Peach: "We'll Fight, Even On Christmas"
In this magical girl show similar to Sailor Moon, the Christmas holiday doesn't mean a break for the Love Angels, who still have to protect the world from devils. In this episode from the OVA, the girls must balance a new enemy and the dates they have for the holiday, in addition to a return of their rival Potamos.
There's notably a scene where the girls and their dates watch a Christmas-themed movie at the local cinema, with Momoko noting that she's rather suspicious about that reindeer with the red nose.
5 Kimi Ni Todoke: "Christmas"
Sawako, who is kind of an outcast thanks to her uncanny resemblance to a ghost, notably Sadako from The Ring, gets an invitation to a Christmas party by her classmate Shouta. Unfortunately, her family already has plans for the holiday as they like to spend Christmas together.
She doesn't have the heart to ask her parents permission to go to the party until late, even when her father mistakenly thinks the gift she made for Shouta is for him, but eventually her parents figure out what's going on and allow her to go. Unfortunately, she missed the party, but, luckily, it turns out Shouta stayed behind to wait for her anyway.
4 Cardcaptor Sakura: "Sakura's Wonderful Christmas"
With Sakura Kinomoto's crush Yukito's birthday falling on Christmas, it becomes doubly important to find him a good present. Meanwhile, a fire-themed card is attacking a local amusement park where everyone is planning to visit.
In the end, Sakura is able to give Yuki a touching gift: a doll that looks like him. They enjoy the park together and even decide to visit the park again the following year.
3 Pokémon: "Christmas Night"
There have been other Christmas specials for Pokémon, but one notable one is the Pikachu short "Christmas Night," also known as "Stantler's Little Helpers," where Pikachu and his friends help save Christmas after Santa's mode of transportation, a reindeer-like Pokémon called a Stantler, has a fever and needs a special Berry to get better.
Luckily, the Pokémon are able to use their talents just in time to cure Stantler and ensure a Merry Christmas.
2 Gakuen Babysitters: "Episode 12"
Ryuuichi and Kotaro are about to celebrate their first Christmas since the death of their parents, all the while the children of the daycare center are awaiting the arrival of Santa Claus. It seems like the two brothers will be spending the holiday alone, as the chairwoman will be at an important dinner, so Ryuuichi decides to dress up like Santa Claus to keep his father's tradition until he realizes it's impossible to change into his costume with his brother following him around.
Luckily, the story has a happy ending when all the kids of the daycare center and their parents come to wish him a happy holiday, along with the chairwoman, who made sure to leave the dinner quickly, and Santa Claus.
1 Hamtaro: "Merry Christmas!"
The children's anime Hamtaro, which revolves around the daily lives of hamsters, has actually had quite a few Christmas episodes, but the first is notable for being the 25th episode of the series, a rather fitting number for Christmas.
In this first special, Hamtaro and his friends make sure that Boss gets his first Christmas present. Luckily, the Ham-Hams might already have a Santa Claus watching over them in Elder Ham.