Come for the Japanese language lesson, stay for the Japanese mythology lesson!

Every year in December there’s a special kind of magic in the air as we all await the return of a beloved icon with a cheerful personality, chubby physique, and bright red suit. You all know who we’re talking about: Santa cosplay Pikachu!

This year, Santa Pikachu’s gift to us is one not only of cuteness, but of knowledge too. That’s because the official Pokémon “Jingle Bells” video not only stars two adorable Pikachus and an Eevee, but also because they’re singing the Japanese version of the song, and today we’ll be teaching you how to sing along.

▼ And since the “jingle bells” part of the lyrics is the same in both Japanese and English, you’ve already got a head-start.

Like a lot of Japanese music videos, the lyrics are displayed at the bottom of the screen, and because of the all-ages appeal of this particular song, they’re in the hiragana phonetic script. But let’s render them in the Latin alphabet and take a look at what they mean too.

So cue up the music, and here we go!

Hashire sori yo, kaze no you ni
(Go, sled, like the wind!)
Yuki no naka o, karuku hayaku
(Fast and light through the snow)
Waraigoe o yuki ni makeba
(If we spread laughter across the snow)
Akarui hikari no hana ni naru yo
(It’ll become a bright flower of light)

Jinguru beru, jinguru beru, suzu ga naru
(Jingle bells, jingle bells, the bells jingle)
Susu no rizumu ni hikari no wa ga mau
(A circle of light dances to the rhythm of the bells)
Jinguru beru, jinguru beru, suzu ga naru
(Jingle bells, jingle bells, the bells jingle)
Mori ni, hayashi ni, hibikinagara
(As their sound echoes in the forest and woods)

Hashire sori yo, oka no ue wa
(Go, sled! Above the hills)
Yuki mo shiroku kaze mo shiroku
(The snow is white, and the wind is white too)
Utau koe wa tondeyuku yo
(Our singing voices take flight)
Kagayaki hajimeta hoshi no sora e
(Into the sky where the stars have begun to shine)

Jinguru beru, jinguru beru, suzu ga naru
(Jingle bells, jingle bells, the bells jingle)
Susu no rizumu ni hikari no wa ga mau
(A circle of light dances to the rhythm of the bells)
Jinguru beru, jinguru beru, suzu ga naru
(Jingle bells, jingle bells, the bells jingle)
Mori ni, hayashi ni, hibikinagara
(As their sound echoes in the forest and woods)

Jinguru beru, jinguru beru, suzu ga naru
(Jingle bells, jingle bells, the bells jingle)
Susu no rizumu ni hikari no wa ga mau
(A circle of light dances to the rhythm of the bells)
Jinguru beru, jinguru beru, suzu ga naru
(Jingle bells, jingle bells, the bells jingle)
Mori ni, hayashi ni, hibikinagara
(As their sound echoes in the forest and woods)

The video even comes with two surprises. In the first, after Santa Pikachu adds a string of lights to the Sudowoodo who’s been standing motionless in the background like it’s just another decoration, the tree-like Pokémon gets filled with Christmas spirit and starts dancing too. Then, at the song’s tail-end, after the obligatory-in-Japan Christmas cake (and yes, that Pikachu ice cream cake really is something you can find in Japan), the little boy presents Pikachu with a wrapped box. But when he opens the lid…

…Pikachu suddenly ages several decades!

This is a pretty clear reference to Urashima Taro, a Japanese folktale about a man who saved a sea turtle, who was actually the beautiful daughter of the mythical emperor of the seas. For his kindness, Taro was rewarded by being allowed to live with the princess at her palace at the bottom of the ocean, living in unaging bliss for many years. When he eventually chose to return to dry land he was given a box and told never to open it, and when he ignored the warning, all of the time he had been at the palace was magically applied to his body, transforming him into an old man in the blink of an eye.

For his part, though, Pikachu seems happy to roll with his new role, jauntily strolling out of the Christmas party where he’d been dancing with a sack of presents to deliver to the good little boys and girls of the world. Just keep your fingers crossed that he doesn’t leave an aging box under your tree.

Images: YouTube/ポケモン Kids TV
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