It’s important for teachers to have fun with their classes. Today, a group of nursing students was discussing birth customs across nations and cultures and why it might be important for medical professionals to be mindful of them. Among the customs discussed was the Muslim practice of Tahneek wherein a small fragment of something sweet like a date or honey is put on the infant’s palate to ensure a sweet future. So far so good.

My attempts to convince my students (all Japanese) that their fathers had done something very similar, only with mochi and anko and they just didn’t remember, failed to persuade. My attempts, did, however, generate a lot of laughter and much speculation about whether such a practice, if done in Japan, would symbolize a sticky future or just a chewy one.