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| Korean New Year | |
| Also called | Lunar New Year |
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| Observed by | Korean people around the world |
| Type | Korean, cultural, Buddhist |
| Significance | The first day of the Korean calendar (lunar calendar) |
| 2007 date | February 18 |
| 2008 date | February 7 |
| 2009 date | January 26 |
| Related to | Mongolian New Year, Tibetan New Year, Japanese New Year, Chinese New Year, Vietnamese New Year |
Korean New Year, known as Seollal (Hangul: 설날; RR: Seollal; MR: Sǒllal) or Gujeong (Hangul: 구정; Hanja: 舊正), is the first day of the lunar Korean calendar. It is the most important of the traditional Korean holidays. It consists of a period of celebrations, starting on New Year's Day. The Korean New Year holidays lasts three days, and is considered a more important holiday than the solar New Year's Day. 1 It is worth noting that the term Seollal is also used to refer to the solar new year.
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). Korean New Year is generally the same day as Mongolian New Year, Tibetan New Year, Chinese New Year and Vietnamese New Year.
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Customs
Korean new year is typically a holiday for the whole family. Many Koreans dress up in colorful hanbok, the traditional Korean clothing, and perform ancestral rituals in the morning. Tteok guk (떡국) (soup with rice cakes) is commonly served during this holiday.
Many Koreans are eager to greet the New Year (both Western and lunar) by visiting the East coast such as the cities of Gangneung and Donghae in the province of Gangwon, where they most likely to see the first rays of the sun as it rises for the first time in the New Year.2
Sebae
Sebae is a traditional practice of paying respect to parents and grandparents on Korean New Year. Children visit their parents and wish them a happy new year by doing a deep traditional bow for them. This is accompanied by the words saehae bok manhi badeseyo (새해 복 많이 받으세요) which literally means receive a lot of new year's luck. Parents reward this by giving their children new year's money (usually in crisp condition) and offering words of wisdom. In the past, parents gave out ddeok and fruits instead.
Folk games
Many Koreans play the traditional family board game, Yut. Today, many Korean also play Go-Stop, a Korean card game. Men fly kites and play jaegi chagi, a game where a light object is wrapped in some paper or cloth, and then kicked in a hackisack manner. Women play nurtwigi, which is a game of jumping on a seesaw. Children play spinning top.
References
- ^ Nguyen, Anna (2007-02-12). "Korean New Year". The Arkansas Traveler.
- ^ Chan, L. P. (2008-01-03). "Diverse New Year's Celebrations Around the World".
External links
- Seollal fête — A stunning visual of Korean culture, The Arkansas Traveler
- Seollal, Lunar New Year's Day, Tour2Korea.com
- Korean Festival: SEOL - LUNAR NEW YEAR : the Most Important Korean Holidays
