Lunar New Year Culture
I was surprised when I first came to the States as people called the Lunar New Year the Chinese New Year. As a person who knew that there was a Lunar New Year celebration in other Asian countries such as but not limited to Korea, Japan, and Vietnam, it was interesting how it was generalized. However, each country has different detailed cultures and traditions in New Year celebrations. For example, Vietnamese people and Chinese people wear red for the fortune of the year. In the following journal, Korean tradition and culture during the New Year will be described.
In Korea, people usually gather around during the Lunar New Year instead of on January 1st. The whole family gathered around wearing the traditional clothes, Hanbok. Compared to the past, people rarely wear a Hanbok during the celebration due to the uncomfortable fitting. However, I believe most people with experience of living in Korea at a young age have experience wearing a Hanbok at a young age and bowing to elders. It is a tradition for younger people to bow to elders. This action is called jull, in which younger people bow to show respect and wish for them to have good fortune. When they bow, elders share the word of wisdom with the envelope. There is a culture in which Chinese people give a red envelope with money inside; however, in Korea, the color of the envelope does not matter. Recalling my memory when I was six years old, I wore a red Hanbok to my grandparent's house and bowed to my grandparents, aunt and uncle, and my parents. Afterward, we had traditional foods prepared earlier that day.
One of the most important foods prepared in the Lunar New Year is a soup with rice cake named Tteok-guk. The soup has an old tradition that started from the Josun dynasty. People believed that by eating the rice cake in the soup, they were going to live without getting sick. Each ingredient in the soup has a meaning into it. The main ingredient of the soup, the rice cake has a meaning of long life without any sickness like the white color; another meaning is when the rice cake is cut, it looks like money used in the Josun dynasty, so it has a meaning of being wealthy in the upcoming year. The soup itself was to wish people to stay warm and strong during the cold winter until the spring comes. One of the fun facts about the soup is that there is a beef topping nowadays, but in the past when the beef was rare and expensive, they replaced it by using chicken topping. This started one of the proverbs, “using chicken instead of pheasants.” Other foods come along with Tteok-guk, but that varies depending on the family's preferences. Tteok-guk is the food that people most frequently in during the Lunar New Year because of its meaning.
It is interesting to explore different Lunar New Year cultures across Asian countries. There are overlapping ideas such as elders giving envelopes to children in China and Korea or eating a soup with rice cake in Japan and Korea. While there are parts that are solely special in specific countries, which came from the countries’ traditions and culture.
I was surprised when I first came to the States as people called the Lunar New Year the Chinese New Year. As a person who knew that there was a Lunar New Year celebration in other Asian countries such as but not limited to Korea, Japan, and Vietnam, it was interesting how it was generalized. However, each country has different detailed cultures and traditions in New Year celebrations. For example, Vietnamese people and Chinese people wear red for the fortune of the year. In the following journal, Korean tradition and culture during the New Year will be described.
In Korea, people usually gather around during the Lunar New Year instead of on January 1st. The whole family gathered around wearing the traditional clothes, Hanbok. Compared to the past, people rarely wear a Hanbok during the celebration due to the uncomfortable fitting. However, I believe most people with experience of living in Korea at a young age have experience wearing a Hanbok at a young age and bowing to elders. It is a tradition for younger people to bow to elders. This action is called jull, in which younger people bow to show respect and wish for them to have good fortune. When they bow, elders share the word of wisdom with the envelope. There is a culture in which Chinese people give a red envelope with money inside; however, in Korea, the color of the envelope does not matter. Recalling my memory when I was six years old, I wore a red Hanbok to my grandparent's house and bowed to my grandparents, aunt and uncle, and my parents. Afterward, we had traditional foods prepared earlier that day.
One of the most important foods prepared in the Lunar New Year is a soup with rice cake named Tteok-guk. The soup has an old tradition that started from the Josun dynasty. People believed that by eating the rice cake in the soup, they were going to live without getting sick. Each ingredient in the soup has a meaning into it. The main ingredient of the soup, the rice cake has a meaning of long life without any sickness like the white color; another meaning is when the rice cake is cut, it looks like money used in the Josun dynasty, so it has a meaning of being wealthy in the upcoming year. The soup itself was to wish people to stay warm and strong during the cold winter until the spring comes. One of the fun facts about the soup is that there is a beef topping nowadays, but in the past when the beef was rare and expensive, they replaced it by using chicken topping. This started one of the proverbs, “using chicken instead of pheasants.” Other foods come along with Tteok-guk, but that varies depending on the family's preferences. Tteok-guk is the food that people most frequently in during the Lunar New Year because of its meaning.
It is interesting to explore different Lunar New Year cultures across Asian countries. There are overlapping ideas such as elders giving envelopes to children in China and Korea or eating a soup with rice cake in Japan and Korea. While there are parts that are solely special in specific countries, which came from the countries’ traditions and culture.
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