Korean Lunar New Year, or Seollal, is a significant holiday in Korea, typically celebrated in late January or early February according to the lunar calendar. It's a time to honor ancestors, gather with family, and wish for a prosperous year ahead.
During Seollal, one important tradition is Charye, where families offer food and drink to their ancestors as a sign of gratitude. This practice is meant to ensure the ancestors' blessings for the family's well-being. However, I believe that this depends on each individual family's tradition because some families are against this tradition due to religious values.
Another key tradition is Sebae, where younger family members bow to their elders to show respect. In return, elders bless them with prosperity and often give them money. This money that is given in an envelope is called “Sebaetdon” where Sebae is bowing and “don” is money. The style of bowing varies depending on gender, with different forms for men and women.
Food is a very big aspect of the Korean Lunar New Year. Some dishes that are typically consumed during this holiday are tteokguk, jeon, and galbi. Tteokguk is a beef bone broth soup with bits of beef, flat rice cakes, egg, and seaweed. To elevate the dish, some families put dumplings that were made the night before into the dish. Eating tteokguk during the Korean Lunar New Year is said to bring good luck and symbolizes growing another year older. Jeon are pancakes made with a variety of ingredients. The most popular kinds are thinly sliced beef, sausage, fish, assorted vegetables, and zucchini. Finally, galbi are marinated beef short ribs that are typically prepared overnight. All of these dishes require a lot of preparation and time. There continues to be problems with this preparation as women in the family are known to prepare everything.
In addition to Charye, Sebae, and traditional foods, Seollal is also marked by various cultural activities and performances. Many people wear hanbok, traditional Korean clothing, during Seollal to participate in these activities and to honor their heritage. For activities, the most common game we play is called 윳놀이 (Yunnori). Yunnori is played with four sticks that act as a dice and you move four tokens that are called 말 (horse). These sticks have one side that is flat and the other side is rounded. When it is your turn, you throw the sticks in the air (like a dice) and see how many land with the flat side facing up. There are five moves you could get. The first is “do” (meaning pig) where only one is flat, advancing one spot on the board. Second is “gae” (meaning dog) where two sides are facing flat, advancing two spots on the board. Third is “geol” (meaning sheep) where three sticks are facing flat, advancing three spots on the board. Fourth is called “yut” (meaning cow) where all four are landed with the flat side facing up. Finally, the last is “mo” (meaning horse) where all sicks landed with the round side facing up. You get into two teams and whichever team’s 말s complete the finish line first wins.
Overall, Seollal is a time for family, tradition, and respect, with rituals like Charye and Sebae symbolizing these values.
Comments
This was very interesting to read about. I have never experienced a truly authentic Seollal celebration and would like to do that one day. It seems like a very nice tradition.
I celebrate Seollal every year and I had no idea that Charye was part of an important tradition. Like you mentioned, I also make dumplings with my family the night before to put into our tteokguk and it has always been my favorite part of the Korean Lunar New Year.