Snack Day

What Is Snack Day?

June 21 is "Snack Day" in Japan. It was established by the All Nippon Kashi Association (ANKA), and it comes from an old custom called "hagatame" (hardening the teeth): around the summer solstice (geshi), one of the 24 solar terms, people celebrated by eating New Year's rice cakes that had been dried hard. The day is said to have started when snack makers proposed this solstice-related date to promote snack foods.

What Is "Hagatame"?

Hagatame is an old custom of eating hard foods to pray for a long life.

• "Ha" means age: The "ha" in hagatame originally referred to "yowai" (age), so the word meant "firming up one's years," or wishing for longevity.
• A New Year ritual: In the Heian-period imperial court, a hagatame ceremony was reportedly held at New Year, with foods such as daikon radish, melon, and pressed sweetfish eaten to pray for long life.
• Eating rice cakes saved until summer: There was also a custom of drying and keeping New Year's rice cakes, then eating them as kakimochi or arare crackers around the summer solstice. This custom of eating something hard is the origin of Snack Day.

About the All Nippon Kashi Association

The All Nippon Kashi Association is the confectionery industry's umbrella organization, made up of confectionery companies and industry groups. It works to support the sound development of the industry and to improve people's diets.

Interesting Facts About Snacks

• What "snack" means: In English, "snack" means a light meal, a between-meal treat, or finger food. In Japan, the word mainly refers to bagged snack foods.
• How snack foods are classified: In the Japanese industry, "snack foods" generally means treats made from potatoes, corn, or beans that are fried or puffed. Wheat-based biscuits and rice crackers such as senbei and arare are classified separately.
• Where "oyatsu" comes from: The Japanese word for a between-meal snack, "oyatsu," is said to come from "yatsu-doki," an Edo-period time of day around 2 to 4 p.m., when people had a light snack.
• The solstice date shifts: The summer solstice usually falls around June 21, and the date can vary from year to year. Snack Day, however, is fixed on June 21.

Ideas for Snack Day

• Check the ingredient labels of your usual snacks to see whether they are made from potatoes, corn, or something else.
• Try old-fashioned "hard snacks" such as kakimochi or arare.
• Check a calendar to see when this year's summer solstice falls.
• Bring your favorite snacks to share with coworkers during a break.

An Old "Hagatame" Custom Became Today's Snack Day

June 21 links an old custom of eating hard rice cakes around the solstice to pray for long life with the snack foods we enjoy today. At snack time during the longest days of the year, take a moment to remember where Snack Day comes from.