The Twelve Months of Hwatu at a Glance: Flowers, Animals and Cards
Hwatu is like a calendar: twelve months in one set. Each month has one flower (or plant), with 4 cards each, 48 cards in all. We’ve put it in a table so you can see it at a glance. Save it on your phone and take it out whenever you need it.
Jan
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Mar
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Aug
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Nov
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Dec
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Twelve-Month Table (Korean Hwatu, based on HealingMatgo cards)
| Month | Flower / Picture | Cards of the month | A fun note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | Pine (pine tree and crane) | Bright·Red Ribbon·Junk·Junk | The first month of the year, a white crane under a red sun |
| Feb | Plum (plum blossom and bird) | Animal (bird)·Red Ribbon·Junk·Junk | One bird of Godori |
| Mar | Cherry | Bright·Red Ribbon·Junk·Junk | The last star of the three Red Ribbons |
| Apr | Black Clover (wisteria and bird) | Animal (bird)·Grass Ribbon·Junk·Junk | The second bird of Godori |
| May | Iris | Animal·Grass Ribbon·Junk·Junk | One of the Grass Ribbons |
| Jun | Peony (peony and butterfly) | Animal·Blue Ribbon·Junk·Junk | The Blue Ribbons begin |
| Jul | Red Clover (boar) | Animal (boar)·Grass Ribbon·Junk·Junk | The Grass Ribbons are complete |
| Aug | Pampas (pampas grass, full moon, wild geese) | Bright (full moon)·Animal (bird)·Junk·Junk | A Bright plus a Godori bird at once |
| Sep | Chrysanthemum (sake cup) | Animal (cup)·Blue Ribbon·Junk·Junk | The cup Animal is a candidate for a Double Junk that can be moved over |
| Oct | Maple (deer) | Animal·Blue Ribbon·Junk·Junk | The Blue Ribbons are complete |
| Nov | Paulownia (phoenix) | Bright (Ttong-gwang)·Double Junk·Junk·Junk | A month with a Bright and also a Double Junk |
| Dec | Rain (willow, umbrella, frog, swallow) | Bright (Rain Bright)·Animal (swallow)·Ribbon·Double Junk | The last month of the year, with cards full of character |
- 5 Brights: Jan, Mar, Aug, Nov, Dec
- 3 Godori birds: the Animals of Feb, Apr, Aug
- Red Ribbons (the red ribbon cards): Jan, Feb, Mar
- Grass Ribbons: Apr, May, Jul
- Blue Ribbons (the blue ribbon cards): Jun, Sep, Oct
Tips for Remembering
Read aloud just the first sound of each of the twelve cards in a row: Song, Mae, Beot, Heuk, Nan, Mo, Hong, Gong, Guk, Dan, O, Bi (Pine, Plum, Cherry, Black Clover, Iris, Peony, Red Clover, Pampas, Chrysanthemum, Maple, Paulownia, Rain). Hum it like a song and the twelve months will come back to you in order.
Also, in this game the Double Junk cards are in November and December, and the September Animal (the cup) can be moved over to be a Double Junk depending on the situation. You can read more about the scoring rules in the game score article (HealingMatgo Score Calculation).
September Chrysanthemum Blue Ribbon
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October Maple Blue Ribbon
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June Peony Blue Ribbon
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How It Differs from Japanese Hanafuda
Korean Hwatu and Japanese Hanafuda have a different order of pictures. In Japan, November is the willow (Rain) and December is the paulownia. In Korea, November is the paulownia and December is the Rain. So when you read stories about Japan, check the month once to avoid confusion.
