[For Seniors] Brain-training with winter-themed quizzes. Great for activities, killing time, and dementia prevention.

Russia

In Japan, Christmas is on December 25, right? Well, in Russia it’s on January 7. Apparently, this has to do with Russia’s religion and calendar. Also, Santa Claus is a bit different—he’s called Ded Moroz, and he has a granddaughter.

pudding

In Japan, chicken and cake are the standard for Christmas, but in the UK, people eat Christmas pudding. Pudding is a large dessert made by mixing plenty of dried fruit with flour, breadcrumbs, suet, and eggs, then steaming it. It’s characterized by a fluffy texture and a subtle sweetness.

Mid-Edo period

It’s said that toshikoshi soba used to be eaten as a celebratory dish on New Year’s Eve. The long, thin noodles symbolize a wish for longevity, and they’re also believed to cut off misfortune and hardship.

abundant harvest of the five grains

Tazukuri, an indispensable dish in New Year’s osechi cuisine, carries a wish for a bountiful harvest, just as its name suggests. It is also known by another name, gomame, which is sometimes written with the characters meaning “fifty thousand rice grains” (五万米).

Aomori Prefecture

Isn’t whale ozoni such a rare dish found only in Aomori Prefecture across all of Japan? It’s said that it was commonly eaten because Hachinohe once had a whaling base. You can enjoy the rich flavor from the fatty whale and the broth.

A man giving chocolate to a woman

I’ve heard that overseas, Valentine’s Day is a day when men give gifts to women and confess their love. It seems that in Japan too, more people have been doing “reverse Valentine’s,” where men give gifts, in recent years.

Stollen

In Germany, it’s said that people eat the traditional pastry Stollen at Christmas. It’s a slightly firm cake with raisins and walnuts in the dough. Since the flavor changes as the days go by, people are said to eat a little bit each day.