[For Elementary School Kids] A New Year’s Quiz Everyone Can Enjoy! Learn surprising fun facts with multiple-choice questions

sweet chestnut paste (Kurikinton)

I’m sure there are many children who love kuri-kinton, but did you know that its golden, coin-like appearance—often likened to a shining koban and even called “golden dumplings”—is also known as an auspicious food imbued with wishes for good fortune, such as increased wealth?

Toshigami-sama (New Year deity)

Toshigami is a deity believed to visit during the Japanese New Year, bringing us happiness and good health for the coming year. The New Year decorations and the custom of eating ozoni (rice cake soup) also reflect the wish to welcome Toshigami and spend the year in peace.

Thailand

The answer is “sea bream.” In Japanese, it’s associated with the phrase “medetai” (auspicious), so it has long been eaten at New Year’s as a lucky food. It’s a fish that often appears at celebrations and on special occasions. With its red skin and beautiful appearance, it’s perfect for festive gatherings.

dragonfly

The winged feather is inspired by dragonflies. The protruding parts of the feather evoke dragonfly wings, and since dragonflies have long been believed to ward off many misfortunes and bad luck, they were incorporated as a good-luck charm.

Seven-herb rice porridge

The correct answer is “nanakusa-gayu” (seven-herb rice porridge). January 7 is called “Jinjitsu no Sekku,” the first of the five seasonal festivals of the year, and it’s said that eating nanakusa-gayu is a way to pray for good health. Of course, it’s fine to eat it at lunch or dinner instead of breakfast, but since it’s a special tradition, do try having it in the morning with your child!

Meiji era

The custom of “hatsumode” is said to have spread nationwide rapidly in the Meiji era when railways developed and more people began visiting large shrines and temples. Before that, it was common to spend the New Year in devotion to one’s local tutelary deity, which was different from today’s practice of going out on New Year’s Day.

So that I can live a long life

By eating thin, long toshikoshi soba, people express a wish for health and longevity. Because soba noodles break easily, they also symbolize cutting off the misfortunes of the past year. This custom spread during the Edo period and is said to have become established nationwide as a New Year’s Eve tradition.

So that you live straight and righteous

The central bamboo in a kadomatsu symbolizes the wish to “live straight and upright,” as it grows straight. It also expresses hopes that good fortune will enter the home directly.

Because the postal system was established.

With the start of the postal system in Japan during the Meiji era and the ease of sending postcards, New Year’s cards spread among ordinary people. Originally, they served as an alternative to New Year’s visits, mainly to show courtesy to those one could not meet in person. Even today, they are cherished across generations as a custom for expressing everyday gratitude.

You can easily make it at home, and it makes everyone laugh.

Fukuwarai spread widely because it’s easy to make at home with paper and the like, and people can play it while laughing together with family and friends. Playing with a face modeled after the god of good fortune is also meant to invite happiness for the year, and from the Meiji era onward it became established as a household pastime.