Let's get excited with a New Year quiz! General questions about the Japanese New Year

From the night of January 1 to January 2

The first dream you have after welcoming the New Year is called hatsuyume. Generally, it refers to the dream you see on the night of January 1st into the morning of January 2nd, and it’s said to be related to the custom of staying up through New Year’s Eve until the morning of January 1st. It’s considered auspicious to dream of “ichi Fuji, ni taka, san nasu” — first Mount Fuji, second a hawk, and third an eggplant.

dragonfly

The winged shuttlecock motif represents a dragonfly. Dragonflies are beneficial insects that eat pests like mosquitoes, which carry various diseases. It’s said that the custom of playing hanetsuki during the New Year began because the sight of the shuttlecock flying was likened to a dragonfly.

New Year’s spiced sake (otoso)

The correct answer is otoso, a drink consumed at New Year’s to pray for health and longevity. The character 屠 (also read hofuru) means to drive away evil, and 蘇 carries the sense of awakening the soul; together they are said to signify repelling evil and reviving vitality. It is a type of medicinal herb wine made from sake, mirin, and medicinal herbs.

Wishing for the healthy growth of children

There was a time when the beginning of spring was considered the New Year, and it was believed that looking up at the sky during this season would bring good health. Flying kites at New Year came to be seen as a way to pray for children’s healthy growth. It is a traditional event in which many kinds of kites are flown, from those with ornate decorations to simple ones.

prosperity of descendants

The fruit placed on top of kagami mochi is actually not a mandarin orange but a type of citrus called daidai. Because daidai can grow larger without falling from the tree, it is displayed as a good-luck fruit, carrying the wish for prosperity to continue for generations.

A Wish for Longevity

Bamboo grows quickly and straight upward, so it is said to symbolize family prosperity and longevity. The reason for displaying three stalks is that three is an auspicious, indivisible number. This New Year’s decoration is placed at entrances as a sign to welcome the Toshigami (New Year deity) into the home.

rice cake (mochi)

Otoshidama is said to have originated from the custom of sharing with family members and children, at the start of the year, rice cakes that were originally offerings to the Toshigami (the New Year deity). By dividing and sharing the mochi, which was believed to be imbued with the deity’s spirit, people expressed wishes for a year of health and happiness. Over time, the custom shifted from giving mochi to giving money, becoming the modern otoshidama.