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| Chuseok, harvest day in Korea |
| Chuseok is Harvest Moon Festival.
Chuseok is the 15th of August; we also call it 'Hangawi', 'Jungchujeol', and 'Gawitnal'.
It is one of the 3rd big national holidays in Korea. Other two we have are new years day (Seol) and Dano(fifth of fifth month in lunar calender). During this time, most of people visit their hometown and parents. |
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Orgin of Chuseok
'Hangawi' Han means big and gawi means middle, that is what it was called a long time ago. Hangawi is the 5th of August. Gawi comes from the Silla age game Gil Ssam (make thread) 'Gabae'. One month before Hangawi, women would visit royal palaces and separate into 2 teams and make a thread. During Hangawi each team would compare how much they made. The losing team would give a party for winning team. We call it 'Gabae', but as time went by the word was changed to 'Gawi'.
In August, food is plentiful, so even poor people make 'Tteok' (rice cake) and share with other people.
Chuseok's Custom and Traditional Game
Chuseok is one of the big national holidays from long ago. There are a lot of customs and events that are part of this celebration. People wear their new suit and every family cooks with new vegetables. They make 'Songpeon' (Korean rice cake from the new crop), 'Hepssalbab' (rice that use new crop) and Korean wine. After they prepared these things they would visit their ancestors or visit the ancestral graves. After the service, they enjoy a day of eating. While at the grave, the grass is cut and the grave repaired for winter.
As Chuseok comes close, most Korean people leave the city to visit their hometown, so lots of traffic jams occur everywhere. It takes a long time to arrive to your hometown. Even with the traffic, families make the trip. This is part of their beautiful character; they don¡¯t forget their families and ancestors.
On Chuseok we eat Songpeon (Korean rice cake), and 'Baekju' (Korean rice wine). There is much sharing with neighbors. During Chuseok we play man games like 'Ganggangsuweulre' and ¡°Gamanori¡±.
¢ºThe game of Chuseok |
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| 25-09-2001 |
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