Why Japan loves festive KFC

In Shusaku Endo’s 1966 novel Silence, the apostatised priest Cristóvão Ferreira tells a Portuguese compatriot a bitter truth about Japanese Christianity. “The Japanese till this day have never had the concept of God,” he proclaims, “and they never will.” For …

How Britain shames its elders

Christmas is a chance to end a miserable year on a high. That means raucous office piss-ups, anarchic family get-togethers, and impish toddlers greedily unpacking their stockings. Not so for our elderly, though. A shocking number spend the festive season …

Who governs Georgia?

On Rustaveli Avenue, just outside the dappled cream facade of the Georgian parliament, people in the crowds of protesters are kicking footballs around. They stand in circles, pinging the ball between them; pairing off, they pass it rapidly to one …

The grief of Gaza’s Christians

Just as they do in England, Gaza’s Christians normally celebrate Christmas with a special meal. It might be stuffed lamb or chicken, with a rich array of salads, vegetable stews, flatbreads and fragrant rice. Their traditional dessert is burbara, a …

The Leopard holds a warning for Europe

The great unification processes of the late 19th century inspired some of the world’s most famous authors. In 1886, Henry James explored the triangular relationship between a Confederate War veteran from Mississippi and two New England feminist abolitionists in The …