Eating the Past: Game show day!

The Birthday Food from Around the Globe Quiz

Compiled by Evelyn Funda, Eating the Past co-host

1. In this country, blindfolded children beat a large Paper Mache animal or cartoon character until the figure is broken and candy spills out for all the children. What country is this?  
2.  In which country would the birthday celebrant (of any age or gender) be “antiqued”—that is, have flour unexpectedly thrown at them until they are covered in it?
3. In which country do people eat a dish of long, thin egg noodles on their birthdays?
4. In which country is it common to place coins in someone’s birthday cake as a symbol of good wealth in the future? 
5. A favorite children’s birthday treat in this country is called “fairy bread,” and it’s a white bread slathered with butter and decorated with a generous amount of candy sprinkles called “Hundreds and Thousands.” Which country is it?
6. In which country is a seaweed soup served at breakfast on someone’s birthday?
7. Which country serves birthday fruit pie instead of birthday cake?
8. Which country is it where the birthday celebrant is given the first slice of birthday cake, but rather than keep it, they will present it to someone special or important in their life as a gesture of honor?
9. In the eastern part of this country, it is common for the person celebrating a birthday to get their nose slathered with butter in a surprise attack. Which country is it?
10. This country flips our birthday traditions. There, the person celebrating a birthday is the one responsible for bringing sweets to the colleagues at work, and they are also responsible for paying for the meals and drinks of friends and family they invite to a local restaurant. Which country is it?
11. A traditional birthday breakfast dish in this country is a mash made of yams and eggs fried in an onion-infused palm oil. Which country is it? 
12. Last question: A wine-infused popular candy is a common gift in this country on a special day in January when the entire nation officially celebrates the adulthood of anyone who turned 20 in the previous year.  What country is it?

Answers:

1. A: Mexico.  The Paper Mache figure is the pinata. 
2. A: Jamaica. The flour is thought to bring good luck and the “antiquing” is usually a precursor to a surprise party.
3. A: China. The noodles are called Longevity noodles and symbolize wishes for a long life. By the way, eating them without biting through the noodles is considered extra good luck. 
4. A: England
5. A: Australia, but New Zealand and Wales, are also acceptable answers. where it also occurs. A common theory about the origin of this treat is that it was inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1885 poem of the same name. The term was first used in Australia in early 1900s. To a lesser degree, the tradition of “fairy bread is also found in New Zealand. In Wales, a similar treat it was known as ‘Bara Brith’ or ‘Speckled Bread.”
6. A: South Korea. Seaweed soup and is thought to guarantee good health for the upcoming year.
7. A: Russia. The birthday pies often have the celebrant’s name carved in the crust. 
8. A: Brazil
9. A: Canada. The thinking is that the butter makes it hard for bad luck to stick to the person in the upcoming year. 
10. A: Italy
11. A: the West African country of Ghana and the yam dish is called Oto, and you can find a recipe for it here: https://foreignfork.com/oto/
12. A: Japan. The Coming of Age Day celebration is called Seijin no Hi (pronounced “SAY-zin no HE”). The thinking is that as an adult, this rite of passage signals the assumption of adult responsibilities and decisions. It also means they can now legally drink, drive, smoke, and gamble. The candy referred to in the question is Ume Sake Kit Kats—that’s right, Kit Kats flavored with plum wine. To read about the Japanese mania for Kit Kats and their hundreds of flavors, see https://www.japancandystore.com/blogs/okashi/kit-kat-flavors.