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There's a belief that "Christmas cake" (presumably クリスマスケーキ) was used
metaphorically about Japanese women over 25 - no-one wants Christmas cake
after Christmas is over, and similarly men don't want to marry women over the
age of 25. Sometimes it's qualified by saying that current generations don't
use the phrase.

It's mentioned on the [English
language](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_cake#Japanese_term_for_an_unmarried_woman)
edition of Wikipedia, mostly citing non-Japanese people, but not the [Japanese
edition](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%AF%E3%83%AA%E3%82%B9%E3%83%9E%E3%82%B9%E3%82%B1%E3%83%BC%E3%82%AD).
Weblio doesn't mention in its [example
sentences](http://ejje.weblio.jp/sentence/content/%E3%82%AF%E3%83%AA%E3%82%B9%E3%83%9E%E3%82%B9%E3%82%B1%E3%83%BC%E3%82%AD)
or
[definitions](http://ejje.weblio.jp/content/%E3%82%AF%E3%83%AA%E3%82%B9%E3%83%9E%E3%82%B9%E3%82%B1%E3%83%BC%E3%82%AD)
of the phrase any cases of it being used metaphorically, and doing an [image
search](https://www.google.co.jp/search?q=%E3%82%AF%E3%83%AA%E3%82%B9%E3%83%9E%E3%82%B9%E3%82%B1%E3%83%BC%E3%82%AD&biw=1909&bih=989&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAWoVChMI9cme2923xwIVoeKmCh18swCF#imgrc=_)
doesn't bring up any non-literal cakes.

Was the phrase used metaphorically this way, and if so, do current generations
understand, or still use, the phrase?
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2015-08-20T13:18:41.853
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question
metaphor
Was クリスマスケーキ used metaphorically about women?
I barely remember hearing this metaphor many years ago, but I can safely say
this metaphor is completely dead now.

According to [this 発言小町
question](http://komachi.yomiuri.co.jp/t/2011/0531/413784.htm?g=01), this
metaphor used to be recognized all over Japan, around 30 years ago. Many
people there say 懐かしいですね or 今じゃ考えられないですね :-)
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-08-20T14:33:23.473
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answer
I remember クリスマスケーキ was used that way decades ago.

The chart below is average age at first marriage in Japan. In 昭和55年 (1980),
female's average age was 25.2. The metaphor probably worked around that time.
But in 平成21年 (2009), it was 28.6. I don't think people in their 20s would
understand the phrase.

[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/TV4Yc.gif)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/TV4Yc.gif)
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