In Japan, the Colonel Rules at Christmas.

As Christmas nears, a uniquely Japanese tradition is poised to return. Across Japan, millions of people will mark the season by feasting on Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC).

Japanese KFC locations typically do 5 to 10 times their normal business on Christmas Eve alone, according to reporting from CNN. Business is so brisk – with some people waiting in line for hours – that KFC added an online ordering option four years ago.

The phenomenon dates back to 1974, when KFC first promoted itself as a Yuletide treat.  According to KFC’s website, “the original idea for the campaign came when a foreign customer who visited KFC in Tokyo on Christmas day said, ‘I can’t get turkey in Japan, so I have no choice but to celebrate Christmas with Kentucky Fried Chicken.’”

A KFC executive overheard the remark and used it as the inspiration to launch the first Christmas blitz. The “Kurisumasu ni wa Kentakkii!” campaign, which translates to “Kentucky for Christmas!,” caught fire with a population that had no yuletide food tradition of its own. Christmas is a secular holiday in Japan, where the population is primarily non-Christian.

Japanese customers were also familiar with fried chicken because panko-breaded, deep fried chicken nuggets called “karaage” were a Japanese staple. Beginning in the 1980s, KFC added life-sized statues of Colonel Sanders dressed as Santa to its storefronts. Japanese KFC customers get their chicken in buckets called “party barrels” that include sides and cake.

In a report on the KFC Christmas tradition last month, the Southern publication Garden and Gun noted that Japan is one of KFC’s biggest international markets. The Texas-based chain has more than 1,200 Japanese locations, with plans to add another 500.

It sounds like KFC Christmas is here to stay.