Korean New Year: Know all about Seollal
Korean New Year aka Seollal is a festival and national holiday marking the first day of the Korean calendar. It is one of the most significant traditional Korean holidays. It commonly happens in January or February on the second new moon after the winter solstice. The festival lasts three days: the day before Korean New Year, Korean New Year itself, and the day after Korean New Year. During this time, many Koreans visit family, perform ancestral rites, feast on traditional food, and play folk games.
Seollal history, significance and custom
The origin of Korean New Year is assumed to be found in the 3rd century Chinese historical work. Typically a three-day family holiday, people return to their hometowns to see their parents and families, where they perform an traditional ritual called charye. Many preparations go into honouring the Korean New Year.
On the first morning, Koreans pay their regards to their ancestors. Customary meals are offered to the forerunners and a ceremony starts with deep bows from all family members. This is a gesture of respect and a significantly noteworthy practice on the first day of the New Year in Korea. They also pray for the well-being of all the family members. Many Koreans dress up in traditional Korean attire called hanbok. After the ritual, the members have a big feast.
Korean New Year food
On New Year's day, people make plenty of food. Tteokguk and Jeon are traditional Korean foods that are customarily eaten for the New Year. Many people eat a lot of rice cakes in the hopes of becoming rich in the new year.
Other foods prepared are mandu-guk, ddeok, galbi-jjim, and japchae.
Folk games played on Seollal
Many traditional games are related to the Korean New Year. There's a traditional family board game yutnori played on Korean New Year. Men and boys also fly rectangle kites called Yeon and play jegichagi, a traditional sport in which an object is covered in paper and then kicked in a footbag-like style. Korean women and girls play neolttwigi, a game of jumping on a seesaw. Top spinning is also a traditional game enjoyed by children.
