Chuseok or Thanksgiving Day is one of the two most important traditional holidays in Korea, the other being Seollal or Lunar New Year’s Day. It is during this time of year when Koreans, en masse, head back to their hometowns to pay respect to their ancestors and celebrate holidays with the family.
Chuseok which is also called Hangawi, is a harvest festival celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th Lunar Month. This year Chuseok falls on October 3.
A traditional food during Chuseok is Songpyeon, a crescent-shaped rice cake filled with sesame seeds, red beans, chestnuts, jujube and other grains which is steamed upon pine needles and is prepared on the eve of Chuseok.
On the morning of Chuseok, songpyeon and other food such as fruits, are arranged to give thanks to their ancestors through Charye (ancestor memorial service). After Charye, Koreans perform the Seongmyo (visiting the ancestral grave) and during the visit they do the Beolcho (remove the weeds around the burial ground).
Under the light of the full moon, the Gaggangsulle (Korean circle dance) is performed by the female family members, dressed in hanbok, they gather around in a circle holding hands and they sing together.
Because Chuseok is such an important occasion, most department stores, restaurants and establishments are closed during this 3-day holiday (the day before Chuseok, Chuseok day itself, and the day after).
If you would like to enjoy the major cities in Korea sans the regular hustle and bustle, traffic jams and the like, this would be a perfect time for you to visit the country. Although most establishments are closed, the museums and other places of interests are still open, a perfect time to immerse yourself in the rich treasures of Korea, without the usual crowd. If you enjoy just simply strolling and feasting your senses with the beauty of the place, which you would not usually have the chance to catch when there are too many people around, you can do all of these during the Chuseok holiday.
However if you are planning to go to places outside the major cities, make sure not to travel during Chuseok, for roads during this time are extremely crowded. So make sure to arrange your travel way in advance to avoid any inconveniences.
5 comments:
so koreans have a thanksgiving day too? and they spend it remembering their ancestors. nice tradition.
yes they do and they call it chuseok
so that's what chuseok is, its the korean thanksgiving day. i just hear the koreans here mentioning that name every now and then and i don't know what they are talking about. at least, i know now.
now you know
poop
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