“Christmas chicken,” a surprise gift and other seasonal tidbits

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Updated Dec 21, 2012

Should you happen upon a truck stop KFC during these final days of Christmas, you might not realize your good fortune. You would, though, if you were living in Japan.

Turns out the Colonel Sanders empire pulled off a marketing coup in that island nation by establishing the notion of fried chicken as the traditional Christmas dinner. The holiday is barely recognized in Japan, where only 1 percent of the population is Christian.

This is one of at least three Christmas music compilation albums marketed under the Colonel Sanders name. Read more on a Facebook page devoted to the topic. Search for “Christmas with Colonel Sanders.”This is one of at least three Christmas music compilation albums marketed under the Colonel Sanders name. Read more on a Facebook page devoted to the topic. Search for “Christmas with Colonel Sanders.”

It started with the “Kurisumasu ni wa kentakkii!” (Kentucky for Christmas!) marketing campaign in 1974, reports the Smithsonian.com. Now people wait in line up to two hours – or order in advance – their “Christmas chicken.”

So if you have a few families in front of you at, say, one of the Flying J KFC outlets, be thankful it’s a relatively short wait. And be sure to lick those fingers after eating that finger-lickin’ good bird before you grab your steering wheel.

A few other seasonal offerings from around the web:

  • Overdrive’s Carolyn Magner tackles holiday problems in the first installment of her advice podcast, based on her blog. Among the letters from readers are a divorced father facing some lonely holidays; a trucker who wonders if he should tell his wife about an old affair with a married woman; and a trucker’s wife who needs some holiday stress-busting tips. You can stream the podcast or download it for later listening.
  • Another Overdrive blogger, Wendy Parker, recounts being surprised by an unusual sort of Christmas gift.
  • Over at Land Line magazine, Bill Hudgins shares his “cracked Christmas carols” – some creative trucking lyrics set to the melody of carols. It includes a sweet tribute to the Dale Sommers, the “Trucking Bozo,” who died this year.