Written by: Estella Shrestha - 2023013, Grade IX
Posted on: 11 October, 2020
Chuseok (추석) is the Korean festival of Thanksgiving, a time for family which is celebrated every fall. Chuseok is originally known as Hangawi. It's a three-day holiday, one of the biggest and most important holidays in Korea, and a very important aspect of Korean culture. It is celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th moon of the lunar calendar, the full moon. According to belief, Chuseok originates 2000 years ago during the reign of the third king of Silla, an ancient Korean kingdom. A weaving contest is performed and relates to Chuseok. It is performed between the two teams and the winning team will be rewarded a feast.
Koreans people visit their hometowns and celebrate the festival sharing feast of their traditional foods such as Songpyeon (small rice cakes), Hangwa rice: Hangwa rice are decorated with natural colors and textured with patterns. Two traditions are related to Chuseok: Charye; Basically, Charye represents the act of honoring ancestors. During the Charye families gather and hold a memorial service for their ancestors through the harvesting, preparation, and presentation of special foods as offerings. The arrangement of the foods of Charye on the table are also significant 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 (beverage) are placed on the east. Seongmyo: It is a family visit to the ancestral graves around Chuseok week. Songpyeon is also significant because of the deep meaning contained in its shape. Songpyeon's rice skin is similar to the shape of a full moon. Baekseju is also one of the drinks to celebrate in Chuseok. It is made of up harvested rice
A variety of folk games are played on Chuseok to mark the celebration of the coming of autumn and rich harvest. Village folk dress like a cow or turtle and go from house to another house along with a nongak band whilst playing music. Archery, ssireum, tug-of-war, juldarigi, etc are other common folk games played on Chuseok.
Since Chuseok was a traditional holiday before Korea’s split, people in North Korea also celebrate it. However, North and South Korea celebrate differently. South Korea Chuseok is a holiday that has a big emphasis on family time. North Korea does not have any family gatherings during Chuseok, they only visit their ancestor’s gravesites during the holiday. Overall, people both in Korea celebrate with many of the same festivities, traditional games, and thanksgiving.
