| Korean New Year | |
|---|---|
Traditional game tuho being played. |
|
| Also called | Lunar New Year |
| Observed by | Korean people around the world |
| Type | Korean, cultural, Buddhist |
| Significance | The first day of the Korean calendar (lunar calendar) |
| 2011 date | February 14 |
| 2012 date | February 3 |
| 2013 date | February 10 |
| Related to | Mongolian New Year, Tibetan New Year, Japanese New Year, Chinese New Year, Vietnamese New Year |
Korean New Year, commonly known as Seollal (Hangul: 설날; RR: Seollal; MR: Sŏllal), is the first day of the lunar calendar. It is the most important of the traditional Korean holidays. It consists of a period of celebrations, starting on New Year's Day. Koreans also celebrate solar New Year's Day on January 1 each year, following the Gregorian Calendar. The Korean New Year holiday lasts three days, and is considered a more important holiday than the solar New Year's Day.[1]
The term "Seollal" generally refers to Eumnyeok Seollal (음력 설날, lunar new year), also known as Gujeong (Hangul: 구정; Hanja: 舊正). Less commonly, "Seollal" also refers to Yangnyeok Seollal (양력 설날, solar new year), also known as Sinjeong (Hangul: 신정; Hanja: 新正).
Korean New Year generally falls on the day of the second new moon after winter solstice, unless there is a very rare intercalary eleventh or twelfth month in the lead-up to the New Year. In such a case, the New Year falls on the day of the third new moon after the solstice (next occurrence will be 2033).
Contents |
Korean New Year is typically a family holiday. The three-day holiday is used by many to return to their hometowns to visit their parents and other relatives where they perform an ancestral ritual. Many Koreans dress up in colorful traditional Korean clothing called hanbok. Many Koreans greet the New Year by visiting East-coast locations such as Gangneung and Donghae in Gangwon province, where they are most likely to see the first rays of the New Year's sun.[2]
Tteokguk (떡국) (soup with sliced rice cakes) is a traditional Korean food that is customarily eaten for the New Year. According to Korean age reckoning, the Korean New Year is similar to a birthday for Koreans, and eating Tteokguk is part of the birthday celebration. Once you finish eating your Tteokguk, you are one year older.
Sebae is a traditionally observed activity on Seollal, and is filial-piety-oriented. Children wish their elders (grandparents, aunts and uncles, parents) a happy new year by performing one deep traditional bow (rites with more than one bow involved are usually for the deceased) and the words saehae bok mani badeuseyo (Hangul: 새해 복 많이 받으세요) which translates to wish you a blessed new year. Parents typically reward this gesture by giving their children new year's money (usually in the form of crisp paper money) and offering words of wisdom, deokdam. Historically, parents gave out rice cakes (ddeok) and fruit to their children instead. Before the bowing ceremony is held, children wear hanboks. Hanboks are worn as a respectful way to appreciate the ancestors and elders.
Many traditional games are associated with the Korean New Year. The traditional family board game yunnori (윷놀이) is still a popular game in now days. Yut Nori(Yunnori) is a traditional board game played in Korea, especially during Korean New Year. Traditionally men and boys would fly rectangle kites called yeonnalligi, and play jegi chagi (제기차기), a game in which a light object is wrapped in paper or cloth, and then kicked in a footbag like manner. Korean women and girls would have traditionally played neolttwigi (널뛰기), a game of jumping on a seesaw (시소), and gongginolie, game played with 5 little gonggi (it was originary a little stone but now days we buy the made ones in shops) While children spun paengi (팽이).