Collection of winter nursery rhymes, folk songs, and children's songs. Includes fun winter hand-play songs too.
Do you like winter?Although winter is very cold, there are many unique ways to enjoy it: you can see a beautiful silver world created by pure white snow, and you can feel a special kind of warmth you can only experience in winter, like hot pot dishes or sitting in a kamakura snow hut.There are also lots of fun events like Christmas and New Year’s!Children are probably looking forward to making snowmen, having snowball fights, and enjoying Christmas presents and cakes, aren’t they?In this article, we’ll introduce nursery rhymes, folk songs, traditional children’s songs, and hand-play songs themed around various aspects of “winter.”There are many songs that will turn a winter that’s “just cold” into wonderful memories, so please give them a listen!
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Collection of Winter Children’s Songs, Folk Songs, and Nursery Rhymes: Fun Winter Hand-Play Songs Too (91–100)
Even Kaze-san.Lyrics: Kaoru Shibayama ・ Libretto: Hachirō Satō / Composition: Yoshinao Nakata
A nursery rhyme perfect for the winter season when the cold wind blows is “Even the Wind.” Set to beautiful piano tones, it sings about the wind personified.
The charming lyrics, which feel as if they spring from a child’s imagination, leave a strong impression.
It’s also recommended to express the blowing wind throughout the piece with smooth piano playing.
It’s a song that makes you want to listen while gazing at a winter scene.
Let the soft, gentle timbre—warm enough to ease the chill of the season—wash over you.
I can hear the Christmas songShinzawa Toshihiko
It’s a charming song filled with the fun of winter.
Released by Toshihiko Shinzawa in July 1996, this piece gently conveys the joy and anticipation of Christmas.
With lyrics that resonate with children and a friendly, easy-to-sing melody, it has become a popular song widely sung in kindergartens and nursery schools.
Included on the album “SEASON,” it runs about 3 minutes and 45 seconds, and the single was priced at 262 yen (tax included).
You can feel the excitement of decorating the Christmas tree and waiting for presents.
It’s also perfect as background music for enjoying the cold season.
Why not sing it together as a family and create some wonderful memories?
Collection of winter children's songs, folk songs, and nursery rhymes. Fun winter hand-play songs too (101–110)
The Song of the Twelve Zodiac Animals
Here is a song that was broadcast for 20 years, from 1973 to 1993, on the popular children’s TV program “Hirake! Ponkikki,” which most kids have probably seen at least once.
Since it aired for such a long time, some of you may have heard it when you were children.
It can be hard for kids to memorize the twelve zodiac signs, so turning it into a catchy pop song makes it easier to remember.
The lyrics and music were written by Michiko Yoshida, who also served as a vocal trainer for the famous Hideki Saijo.
Early Spring Ode
This is a song published in 1913 with lyrics by Kazumasa Yoshimaru and music by Akira Nakata.
It is one of the Songs of Japan (Hyakusen).
The song is said to depict the snowmelt scenery of Azumino in Nagano Prefecture.
“Fu” refers to the recitation or composition of Chinese-style poetry.
An arranged version was broadcast on NHK’s “Minna no Uta.”
Ski SongSakkyoku: Hashimoto Kunihiko
There are two songs with the same title, but this one was included in 1933 as one of the pieces in the music textbook Shintei Jinjo Shogaku Shoka: For Sixth Grade.
The lyrics were written by Yanagiha Hayashi, and the music was composed by Kunihiko Hashimoto.
Some parts of the lyrics use old-fashioned language and can be hard to understand, but if you read them carefully, they vividly depict skiing in the winter mountains and it’s exciting.
I recommend taking this opportunity to revisit this classic Japanese school song—despite its age, it still sounds fresh today.
New Year (Japanese New Year)
This song, cherished as a children’s song to celebrate the New Year, was released in 1901, with lyrics by Kume Azuma and music by Rentaro Taki.
It sings about traditional New Year’s games such as kite flying, spinning tops, bouncing balls, and hanetsuki (a shuttlecock game).
Its simple, easy-to-remember melody makes it fun for even small children to sing.
It really makes you look forward to the New Year.
Light of Fireflies
In Japan, it is familiar as background music for graduation ceremonies and store closings, but in countries like the United States and the United Kingdom, it is sung at the stroke of midnight during New Year’s Eve countdowns.
Based on a melody handed down in Scotland, the lyrics were written by the Scottish poet Robert Burns, making it a Scottish folk song.
It was included in the 1881 publication Shogaku Shoka Shohen (First Collection of Elementary School Songs), after which it came to be sung in Japan as well.