World and Lore / Kyoto mystery

New Year's Dreams

The first dream of the new year is known as "hatsuyume." It is said that those who have a pleasant first dream will have a year blessed with good luck. To help bring this about, there has long been a custom of placing a decorative card depicting the Seven Gods of Fortune under one's pillow. But should one chance to have a disagreeable first dream, this misfortune can be reversed by taking that card to the river and letting it be carried away by the current.