The Korean peninsula is blessed with beautiful scenery, a mild climate and fertile soil. Koreans have inhabited this propitious land for several millennia depending on agriculture as the major means of livelihood. Rice has been and still is the staple grain of Koreans.
From ancient times they have sowed seeds in the spring, nurtured rice plants in the summer. harvested crops in the autumn and preserved cereals through the winter. This cycle of farming has become part of Korean culture and influenced many of the customs of the Korean people.
While engaging in agriculture, Koreans deve1oped annual events and found it convenient to observe according to the lunar calendar. It was at the turn of the century that the Gregorian calendar was introduced to Korea, setting the standard for all official events, yet some events and customs of traditional origin are still observed on lunar days.
Sol (New Year Day) and Ch'usok (Korean Thanksgiving Day) are the most typical of the traditional events observed by the lunar calendar The length of the four seasons, composed of 24 solar terms, is determined by the orbital motion of the earth around the sun, but for ancient Koreans the position of the moon around the earth was much important, for it marked the season's change and important dates for agriculture. The moon has been a familiar companion of people, playing its role as a guide in the farming schedule and illuminating dark nights to invoke an aesthetic sensitivity to mother nature.
Among the important dates that Koreans observe by the lunar calendar, four stand out as an important part of Koreans' customs. They are Hanshik (a day of cold food) , Tano, Ch'usok(Korean Thanksgiving Day) and New Year Day.
SolNew Year Day, the so-called "sol" is the most festive day of the year. Everyone gets one year older on this day, irrespective of one's birthday.
On the eve of the New Year Day, a variety of foods are prepared for ancestral ceremonies.
Koreans in the past were so overwhelmed by the anticipation of the upcoming year that they used to keep awakes for the entire night to receive the New Year.
This custom developed into a playful joke warning against sleep "if you fall asleep, you will get your eyebrows turn white". Even today many Koreans customarily hang ladles on the wall to pray for good luck in the new year.
On the morning of New Year Day, all family members dress in their best clothes called "Solbim(new clothes of Sol " and gather for an ancestral ceremony at the eldest son's house. In the case where the eldest son lives in a rural area, family members residing in other areas take great pains to get to the eldest's home so as to pay obeisance to their parents and ancestor. The desire of Koreans to reunite with the family on this occasion is so strong that a three day holiday is granted to allow time for a visit to one's hometown.
On the New Year Day, rice cake soup called "Ttokkuk" is the feature of table foods prepared for the ancestor worship ritual. Before the altar, all members and relatives pay obeisance to the deceased ancestors. When the ancestral ritual is over.
They sit around the table to indulge in the foods displayed for the ceremony.
Customarily, elders receive visits and greetings from their offspring, relatives and neighbors. In return, they visit and give greetings to their elders. The junior members of the family solicit virtuous words from their seniors by performing formal bows. The seniors usually respond by saying "My best wishes for the realization of your dreams this year." This encounter occasionally leads the seniors to tell their own or others' stories about persons who have been rewarded for their virtuous deeds. "Sebae (New Year's bows)" are performed within three days of the New Year Day. But the exchange of greetings is allowed until the I5th day of the first lunar month, in cases where offspring live far away from patents. Adult visitors are given wine and food, and children are given pocket money for doing Sebae.
They regard such annual greetings as a precious legacy which should be preserved by all means. Visits to family elders who perform ancestral ceremonies are still common place in Korea.
Folk games begin in the afternoon of New Year Day. Boys fly kites and girls play on a seesaw called "Nolttwigi" in Korean.
Young couples dressed in their colorful Hanbok dot the streets of large cities. They are hurrying to the eldest's home to pay obeisance to their ancestors.
Although the official New Year holiday lasts three days, festive mood grips people well into Taeborum, the first full-moon day of the new year The first full-moon day marks an important day on the lunar calendar, since it is accompanied by many customs. One familiar custom is to crack nuts with one's teeth- a practice which is believed to keep one's teeth healthy for the year. On the first full-moon day. the market is full of a variety of nuts, notably walnuts and peanuts, with crowds and peddlers blocking the streets.
In the countryside, people ascend mountains, braving cold weather, trying to catch the first rise of the moon, carrying torches in their hands as a gesture of welcome. It said that the first person to see the moon rise would have many good tidings all year round. With the full moon rising out of the reddened east sky, torches are laid down on the ground and people put their palms together to wish for the realization of their dreams. Farmers pray for bumper crops: a young lass wishes for a handsome groom , and elderly people wish for the spirits of their ancestors to guard their families against evil forces. Koreans used to foretell the year's harvest by the shape of the moon and the color of the moon-lit ha1o.
Red spoke of a drought and white of a flood. A thick halo predicted poor crops for the year.
For breakfast on Taeborm. a five-grain bap is prepared to serve family members and neighbors. The five-grain bap consists of rice, millet, Indian millet,beans. and red beans. It is served with various herbs which have been dried and preserved during the preceding year. One of the special foods on this day is "Yakshik" which is made of glutinous rice, chestnuts, pinenuts, honey, sauce and sesame oil.
On this day, Koreans do not give any food to dogs because they believe that dogs which eat on this day will contract gad flies and vomit a lot in the coming summer.
There is an old saying 'like a dog fed on Taeborum' and this refers to a person weak and susceptible to summer heat and other diseases.
Various folk games are played from New Year Day to Taeborum. Kite flying is quite popular, played by both children and adults. On the last day, the string is cut, freeing the kite, and letting it fly high into the air until it disappears. Yunnori is another popular game which all family members enjoy on the festive day. The most thrilling game is a tug of rope which sets the unified force of the people of a village against one another. There are other folk plays, including Kossaum(loop fighting), Tongch'aessaum (wheel fighting) , Nottaribalkki (human bridge stepping) and Kanggangsullae (a circle dance).
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Korean Folklore--
Korean Holidays and Culture--
Koreans Born in the Year of the Dog
