National Holiday: CHUSEOK
What is Chuseok?
It is one of the biggest and most important national holidays in South Korea. Chuseok is the Korean Thanksgiving or the harvest festival and it is based on the lunar calendar and this year it fell on September 27th and is celebrated over 4 days.
History of Chuseok
There are three different theories behind the origin of Chuseok. The first one is that Chuseok is used to offer tributes of the harvest to the dieties and ancestors. The second theory is that Chuseok came from the Silla dynasty (57 BC - 935 AD). Chuseok used to be a month-long weaving competition between two teams. The winning team was served a large feast by the losing team. The third theory is that when the Silla won over the Baekje dynasty (18 BC-660 AD), they had a celebration with weaving, wrestling and archery competitions which was later turned into Chuseok.
Chuseok Customs
Ancestral Memorial Services (Charye)
On the morning of Chuseok, all the family members gather at the ancestral homes to perform memorial services in the honor of their ancestors. After the services, the family has a big feast together. Traditional food served is songpyeon, which is a type of halfmoon shaoed rice cake stuffed with sesame seeds, pine nuts or chestnuts. There are many other dishes served such as broiled fish, fish fritters, beef, seaweed and fish curry, pancakes, gosari, jeok (skewers) to mention a few. The rice cake is made by the entire family. There is a saying that those who can make nicely shaped rice cake will meet a beautiful spouse or give birth to a beautiful baby.
There is usually a controversy concerning the food preparation for Chuseok. Usually the daughter-in-laws of the families are responsible for the preparation of the food. Due to the large number of dishes served, the holiday most dreaded by the daughter-in-laws. I have seen in multiple Korean shows that the wives stay up all night cooking and would often be bullied by the mother-in-law and criticized by the in-laws while no one would lend a helping hand.
Beolcho and Seongmyo
The family members visit ancestral graves (seongmyo) and clear the weeds around the graves (beolcho). This is done in order to show devotion and respect to the ancestors.
Ssireum (Korean wrestling)
This is usually a custom that takes place in villages. Two competitors face each other in a sandpit and try to pin the opponent. The last wrestler standing is the winner and is considered the strongest man in the village and takes home cotton, rice or calf as the prize.
Ganggangsullae (Korean circle dance)
Women dressed in handok (traditional Korean clothing) join hands in a circle and sing together. One of the most well-known stories about the origin of the dance is that during the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) the Korean army used to dress the young women of the village in military clothes and had them circle the mountains to look like there were more of the Korean military and thus scare the enemy.
Liquors
At the memorial service for the ancestors, families and relatives gather to enjoy liquor made of rice.
Comments