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

Hanetsuki

Hanetsuki is a traditional New Year’s game in which players hit a shuttlecock, made by attaching feathers to the seed of the soapberry tree (mukuroji), with wooden paddles (hagoita). Originally, it was a game meant to ward off evil—“to brush away misfortune”—and by using mukuroji, which carries the meaning “children do not fall ill,” people prayed for a year of good health and protection from malevolent spirits. There are two types of hanetsuki: oibane, where two players face each other and rally the shuttlecock, and agebane, where a single player hits it upward, often competing for the number of hits. Give it a try!

January 1 to January 2

When people talk about the first dream of the year, you might think it means the dream you have when you wake up on New Year’s Day, but generally the “first dream” refers to the dream you have on the night of January 1st to 2nd. This is said to be because there’s a custom of staying up all night from New Year’s Eve to New Year’s Day. There’s a saying that certain dreams bring good luck—“first, Mount Fuji; second, a hawk; third, an eggplant”—but snakes and toilets are also considered auspicious. So when you wake up, try to remember what appeared in your dream.

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!