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ABOUT KOREAN HARVEST MOON FESTIVAL, "CHU-SOK"

 

 

    Korean people have two big special holidays every year. One is New Year's Day, "Seol Ral," and the other is "Chu-sok," which is like Thanksgiving Day."Chu-sok" is the day Korean people give thanks to their ancestors in heaven for helping to get a large harvest in fall.

    All families get together in their hometown to participate in traditional ceremonies. They make special food, wear traditional clothes, and enjoy games or dance with their neighbors on that day. It is celebrated at the time of the brightest full moon, "Borum-dahl."  "Chu-sok" is filled with feelings of richness and abundance. Let's explore what Korean people do for the three days of the "Chu-sok" Holiday.

    "Chu-sok" falls on the 15th day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar, usually in September or October by the solar calendar. More than thirty million people, nearly half of the total population in Korea, travel to their hometown for family get-togethers, so that the occasion is called "National Exodus of People." On the way to their hometown, all have gifts for their loved ones, some of whom they have not seen for months or maybe even years. The mild temperatures after the simmering summer heat make everyone happy, so their restless hearts are already floating to their sweet old home.

 

 

 

  

    Long ago, even now in some parts of the countryside, most Korean families did not have bath tubs inside their houses. Mothers used to take children to the public bath on the day before Chu-sok to scrub dirt from them, so they could attend th e next morning's sacrificial rite with a clean body. The women have a lot of work to do. They cook mountains of food for their families , serve relatives and visitors and clean up after them. Meanwhile, children wait eagerly to wear colorful and beautiful "Han-bok," the traditional clothes their parents bought for them.

    "Chu-sok" cannot be celebrated properly without the rice cake "Songphyon." After mixing the rice flour with boiled water and working dough, it is formed into half-moon shapes with the sesame seeds and honey, beans or chestnuts inside. Then they lay pine needles in the steamer and put the rice dumplings on them. After steaming for a while, they spreaf sesame oil on "Songphyon" with a brush before eating.   
    Men, even children become quite cooperative around Songphyon-making time. The house is full of smiles and pleasure. Red and yellow-tinged leaved in the yard are shaking like flags and whispering with autumn breeze. It is heart-warming for all the family to work together and have fun.

          

  "Songphyon" Making Process 

          

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    "Charae"is a ceremony to respect their ancestors. It is the first thing families do on "Chu-sok." In the morning of "Chu-sok," wearing "Hanbok," Koreans bow th their ancestors, with food presented on a table as an offering. Refined rice wine, taro soup, beef, fish and three different-colored vegetables are on the table. The season's first crop of fruits, such as persimons, apples, pears, nuts and dates, are offered, too.

    During that rite, it is important to express their respect because Koreans think that their ancestors visit at that time in their house, and look at everything, their actions and their faces, even their minds.

 

 

 

 

    After "Charae," everyone eats food and enjoys himself. They talk about their daily lives with each other. Then, they visit the grave sites of their ancestors to observe a similar ritual. A few days earlier, the men in the family actually went to remove weeds and cut the grass from the ancestors' graves.

 

 

 

 

    At night, Koreans enjoy dancing under the full moon, "Borum-dahl," with their families and neighbors as singing "Kang Kang Sue Wal Lae." They dance sometimes fast, sometimes slow holding hands and circling. There is also wrestling, swinging, jumping seesaw and other folk games that are played.

 

 

Kang Kang Sue Wal Lae

Korean Wrestling "Ssireum"

 

 

Swinging

  

Jumping Seesaw "Neolttwigi"

    Korean people still observe the traditional holiday, "Chu-sok," although in a simple way. Like American Thanksgiving, "Chu-sok" is the time to celebrate the family and give thanks for their blessings.

 

( Assignment 2: Article )