Back to Blog
Harvest moon a wonderful life stamina7/23/2023 The design of the hanbok remains unchanged to this day and is designed in a variety of colors. The term "hanbok" literally means "Korean clothing." The basic structure of the hanbok consists of the jeogori jacket, baji pants, chima skirt, and the po coat. The hanbok (in South Korea) or Choson-ot (in North Korea) is the traditional dress that the Korean people wear on special holidays and formal and semi-formal occasions, such as Chuseok, Lunar New Year, and weddings. The arrangement of the foods of Charye on the table is also notable: traditionally rice and soup are placed on the north and fruits and vegetables are placed on the south meat dishes are served on the west and in the middle, and rice cake and some drinks such as makgeolli or soju are placed on the east. The foods offered vary across provinces depending on what is available, but commonly feature freshly harvested rice, rice cakes ( songpyeon) and fresh meat, fruit and vegetables. The rite embodies the traditional view of spiritual life beyond physical death, respecting the spirits of the afterlife that now also serve to protect their descendants. Preparation for the food usually takes hours and many families start the cooking process early in the morning. The rite involves the gathering of families in holding a memorial service for their ancestors through the harvesting, preparation and presentation of special foods as offerings. Charye Ĭharye is one of the ancestral memorial rites celebrated during Chuseok, symbolizing the abundance of the harvest season and honoring ancestors and past generations. Airline tickets to South Korea around the festival are usually sold out three months in advance and roads and hotels are overcrowded. Many places are closed during this national holiday, including banks, schools, post offices, governmental departments, and stores. Although most South Koreans visit their families and ancestral homes, there are festivities held at the National Folk Museum of Korea. Chuseok is commonly incorrectly translated as "Korean Thanksgiving" in American English despite the holidays being vastly different in origin and celebration. Harvest crops are attributed to the blessing of ancestors. South Koreans consider autumn the best season of the year due to clear skies, cool winds, and it is the perfect harvesting weather. The rest of the day is spent playing folk games and bonding with the family members. Then, they visit the tombs of their immediate ancestors to trim plants, clean the area around the tomb, and offer food, drink, and crops to their ancestors. People perform ancestral worship rituals early in the morning. Chuseok celebrates the bountiful harvest and strives for the next year to be better than the last. In contemporary South Korea, on Chuseok, masses of people travel from large cities to their hometowns to pay respect to the spirits of their ancestors. Traditional customs Īnother table with many traditional food offerings on it In some areas, if there is no harvest, worship rituals are postponed, or in areas with no annual harvest, Chuseok is not celebrated. New harvests are offered to local deities and ancestors, which means Chuseok may have originated as a worship ritual. Many scholars also believe Chuseok may originate from ancient shamanistic celebrations of the harvest moon. It is believed that weaving competitions, archery competitions, and martial arts demonstrations were held as part of the festivities. On the day of Gabae, the team that had woven more cloth won and would be treated to a feast by the losing team. Gabae started during the reign of the third king of the kingdom of Silla (57 BC - 935 AD), when it was a month-long weaving contest between two teams. Another major custom is to prepare the family's ancestors their favorite meals as an offering.Īccording to popular belief, Chuseok originates from gabae ( Korean: 가배 Hanja: 嘉俳 There are two major traditions related to Chuseok: Charye ( Korean: 차례 Hanja: 茶禮, ancestor memorial services at home, also known as Jesa), and Seongmyo ( Korean: 성묘 Hanja: 省墓, family visit to the ancestral graves), which is usually accompanied by Beolcho ( Korean: 벌초 Hanja: 伐草, tidying graves, removing weeds around them). and dongdongju ( Korean: 동동주 Hanja: 浮蟻酒). As a celebration of the good harvest, Koreans visit their ancestral hometowns and share a feast of Korean traditional food such as songpyeon ( Korean: 송편 Hanja: 松䭏), yakgwa, fruits like Asian pear and hallabong, and rice wines such as sindoju ( Korean: 신도주 Hanja: 新稻酒).
0 Comments
Read More
Leave a Reply. |