How Did Some Children's Games Begin

Last Updated on August 13, 2021 by

Today, “Hide and Seek” is played because it is fun. But the beginning of “Hide and Seek” really goes back a long, long time, when it had a different meaning to the people who played it. In fact, it used to be played by grown-ups. In certain parts of Europe, it used to be the custom at springtime to go out into the woods and the country to find flowers and birds which appeared with the new season. Then these were brought back to the village so that everybody could see that spring was really there.

Seeking for these signs of spring which were hidden in the woods was the real beginning of “Hide and Seek”. And even though so much time has passed, in some countries today when this game is played, the person who is hiding still imitates the call of birds!

An interesting thing about practically all children’s games is that each one started not as a game, but with something that happened in history, or a fable that people believed. Sometimes it started with a happy event, sometimes a tragic one.

“London Bridge Is Falling Down” is a game that started very seriously. It does not even have anything to do with London! It goes back to the days when people imagined that people must pass over a bridge after they died. Some people passed over the golden bridge into heaven, others had to pass over an old, tottering bridge to meet the devil. This game, played all over the world today, has a different name in each country!