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)
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.
January 1st
This song was published in 1893 as part of the Ministry of Education’s “Lyrics and Scores for Elementary School Holidays and Grand Festivals.” The lyrics were written by Sonpu Senke, and the music was composed by Shingyo Ue.
It used to be commonly sung in schools.
For people of a slightly younger generation, it may be better known as the theme song of the “New Year’s Kakushi Gei Tournament.” Because the lyrics use an old-fashioned style, today’s children might find it unfamiliar.
Even so, I hope it will continue to be sung for years to come.
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.