Musical chairs, also known as Trip to Jerusalem, is a game of elimination involving players, chairs, and music. It is a staple of many parties worldwide.
Gameplay
A set of chairs is arranged with one fewer chair than the number of players (for example, seven players would use six chairs). While music plays, the contestants walk around the set of chairs. When the music stops abruptly, all players must find their own individual chair to occupy. The player who fails to sit on a chair is eliminated.
A chair is then removed for the next round, and the process repeats until only one player remains and is declared the winner.
In
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
, musical chairs had a similar custom to the modern version, with slight differences; the boys would always sit whilst the girls would skip around, always outnumbering the boys. If a girl didn't sit fast enough on the boy's lap, she would have to forfeit. This would continue until the end when the winning girl would kiss the last boy.
History of the name
The origins of the game's name as "Trip to
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
" is disputed. However, it is known to come from its German name ''Reise Nach Jerusalem'' ("The Journey to Jerusalem"). One theory suggests that the name was inspired by
the Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were i ...
, wherein several heavy losses were incurred. Another theory suggests that it was inspired by the
Aliyah
Aliyah (, ; he, עֲלִיָּה ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel, which is in the modern era chiefly represented by the Israel, State of Israel ...
, the immigration of Jews from the
diaspora
A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of origin. Historically, the word was used first in reference to the dispersion of Greeks in the Hellenic world, and later Jews after ...
to the Land of Israel (which includes the modern State of Israel), wherein it is stated that spaces on ships taking the Jews to the said land were limited. None of these theories were officially confirmed.
As metaphor
The term "playing musical chairs" is also a
metaphor
A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide (or obscure) clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are often compared wit ...
for describing any activity where items or people are repeatedly and usually pointlessly shuffled among various locations or positions. It can also refer to a condition where people have to expend time searching for a resource, such as having to travel from one gasoline station to another when there is a shortage. It may also refer to political situations where one leader replaces another, only to be rapidly replaced due to the instability of the governing system (see
cabinet reshuffle
A cabinet reshuffle or shuffle occurs when a head of government rotates or changes the composition of ministers in their cabinet, or when the Head of State changes the head of government and a number of ministers. They are more common in parlia ...
).
See also
*
Buggins' turn Buggins' turn or Buggins's turn is a humorous, disparaging British term for appointment to a position by rotation or seniority rather than by merit.
This practice in the British Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval ...
*
Chinese fire drill
"Chinese fire drill" is a slang term for a situation that is chaotic or confusing, possibly due to poor or misunderstood instructions.
Origins
The term goes back to the early 1900s, and is alleged to have originated when a ship run by British of ...
*
Hot desking
*
Level-coil Level-coil or pitch-buttock is an old party game played at Christmas in which players have to forfeit their seat to another, often in a boisterous manner. The name is a corruption of its French name ''lève-cul'', meaning to lift the buttocks.
See ...
References
{{Party games
Party games
Children's games
Metaphors
Outdoor games
Chairs