So interesting you’ll want to tell someone! December Trivia & Fun Facts Special

The custom of eating toshikoshi soba began in the Edo period.

If you don’t have any allergies, I imagine many of you eat soba to ring in the New Year.

Toshikoshi soba is said to ward off bad luck and pray for longevity.

In fact, this tradition dates back to the Edo period.

These days, I feel like you see udon more often than soba, but in the mid-Edo period, soba was actually more common.

The custom began when Edo-period merchants celebrated the end of the month’s work by eating soba, and from there it became something people also ate on New Year’s Eve.

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In the Edo period, people did a celebratory toss after the big year-end cleaning.

Year-end housecleaning was originally a sacred ritual called “susuharai,” meant to welcome the gods.

In the Edo period, it’s said that after the cleaning was finished, people would perform a celebratory tossing (do-age) to honor the workers.

Especially in samurai residences and merchant houses, tossing those who supported the household throughout the year was thought to sweep away even the dust on their hearts.

Today, the custom has shifted into year-end parties and toasts, but the spirit of appreciating others and sharing laughter with companions remains unchanged.

It’s a bit of Japanese trivia that reminds us of human warmth.

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The New Year’s Eve bell-ringing tradition began in China.

The Joya-no-Kane bell, indispensable on New Year’s Eve in Japan, is actually said to have originated in China.

In ancient times, as a Zen Buddhist observance, it was imbued with the meaning of dispelling worldly desires amid the quiet of the night, and it was introduced to Japan in the Kamakura period.

There is a theory that the 108 strikes represent the number of human desires, but originally it was a ritual to calm the mind and welcome the new year in purity.

It warms the heart to know that a culture of prayer from a distant land took root in Japan and continues to this day.

A bit of trivia passed down across time.

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The custom of eating chicken at Christmas originated in Japan.

When you hear about eating chicken at Christmas, you might think it originated in America—but in the West, the standard is to eat turkey.

However, turkey used to be difficult to obtain in Japan.

After broiler chickens were introduced following the war, chicken became readily available, and roast chicken began to be eaten as a substitute for turkey.

Then in 1974, when KFC promoted the slogan “Fried chicken for Christmas,” it is said to have established the custom of eating fried chicken at Christmas in Japan.

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Year-end parties began in the Kamakura period.

In modern times, bōnenkai—year-end parties—are an indispensable way to wrap up the year, but their origins are said to date back to the Kamakura period.

Back then they were called “toshigoshi” or “toshiforgetting,” and served as gatherings where people who had endured a harsh year exchanged poetry and comforted one another.

Amid ongoing wars and political tensions, having time for people to spend together with smiles was the greatest balm.

These gatherings eventually spread among commoners in the Edo period and evolved into the banquet-style events we see today.

It’s a heartwarming piece of trivia that conveys human bonds across the ages.

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