Korea has a lot of national holidays like New Year's Day, Children's Day, Thanksgiving Day, and so on. In this post, I'll talk about the most major national and traditional holiday of Korea, 설날. By the way, before we begin, I’ll also write about the two different calendars; lunar and solar. Because modern Koreans use the solar calendar mainly, but still also use the lunar calendar these days.
The Solar and Lunar Calendar
1. The Lunar Calendar
The lunar calendar is based on the moon's cycles, specifically, the moon's phases as it orbits the Earth. Each month in a lunar calendar corresponds roughly to one lunar cycle, which is about 29.5 days. Because the lunar month doesn't precisely match the length of a solar month, lunar calendars often require adjustments to keep them aligned with the seasons. Historically, Korea used a lunar calendar. It was used for various purposes, including tracking agricultural seasons, scheduling festivals and ceremonies, and determining auspicious dates for important events like weddings or moving into a new home.
2. The Solar Calendar
It is the calendar that most countries use in this 21st century. The solar calendar is based on the movement of the Earth around the Sun. Solar calendars typically have 12 months, with each month corresponding to approximately one-twelfth of the time it takes for the Earth to complete one orbit around the Sun, roughly 365.25 days. So, they usually include leap years with an additional day (February 29th) every four years to account for the extra fraction of a day. Most modern calendars, including the Gregorian calendar used internationally, are solar calendars.
With the adoption of the Gregorian calendar, Korea shifted many official and civil activities to the solar calendar. The Gregorian calendar is widely used in Korea for government, business, and everyday life. Despite the dominance of the solar calendar in contemporary Korean society, the lunar calendar continues to hold cultural importance. People still celebrate the Lunar holidays which I'll show you the details of soon at the below.
My parents’ generation celebrates birthdays on the Lunar calendar. However, since the 1980s people started to use the solar calendar for birthdays. As for me, my parents were born in the 50s and 60s and celebrate their lunar birthdays. So every year I have to search for their b-days on the internet to see which solar days are their birthdays this year.
Lunar New Year's Day
Lunar New Year is called 설날 (Seollal). It falls on the first day of the lunar calendar, typically in late January or early February in the Solar calendar. Traditionally, it was a big national holiday.
In 1989, it was designated as a three-day holiday. So, people rest the day before and after the lunar January 1st as well. It helps people to visit their parents' or relatives' houses for this time. You can hear many news these days such as how empty Seoul is or how the traffic is bad all over the country! Now, I'll show you what people do on the New Year's Day!
What to wear
First, people wear the traditional Korean clothes 한복(hanbok). Nowadays, people usually wear Westernized clothes in daily life like shirts, jeans, suits, and so on. But for the special holidays, many people try to wear traditional clothes. A long time ago, people bought new clothes and wore them for the new beginning of the year. These new clothes were called 설빔(seol-bim.) People don't buy new hanbok every year anymore, but some people still buy new clothes to celebrate the New Year!
What to eat
People share a lot of food when all the family gather. The most significant New Year's Day food is a special soup called 떡국(tteok-guk). It is the soup with rice cake. 떡 means rice cake and 국 is soup. People say you’ll get one year older when you eat 떡국 on New Year’s Day. Since the rice cake looks like a coin, people also believe this soup will bring you wealth and good luck in the upcoming year. If you are curious, the main ingredients of 떡국 include tteok (rice cakes) and a clear broth typically made with beef or anchovy stock. People decorate the soup with thinly sliced beef, eggs, green onion, gim(dried seaweed), and so on!
What people do
Ancestral Rites
On New Year's people prepare the table to offer food to ancestors and do ancestral rites. These rites are known as 차례(cha-lyae) and the table is called 차례상(cha-lyae-sang). It's a solemn occasion where families gather to pay respects to their ancestors and seek their blessings for the upcoming year.
Typically, the table for the 차례 ceremony is meticulously set with an array of symbolic foods. These offerings often include rice and grains, representing abundance and prosperity; various meats and fish symbolizing wealth and fertility; an assortment of colorful vegetables and fruits signifying vitality and diversity; as well as traditional sweets and snacks for enjoyment.
Additionally, ritualistic elements such as incense, candles, and ancestral tablets are also present on the altar. Family members bow respectfully before the altar, offering prayers and expressing gratitude to their ancestors for their guidance and protection. You are supposed to bow twice.
Bow
On Sellonal, a traditional New Year's bowing ceremony is performed to show respect and well-wishes to elders. It is called 세배(sae-bae). During the 세배 ceremony, younger individuals, usually children, bow deeply to their elders, such as parents, grandparents, and other senior relatives. The bow is a gesture of respect and gratitude, expressing wishes for the elder's health, happiness, and prosperity in the coming year.
In return, the elders often give blessings and words of wisdom to the younger ones. They may also give monetary gifts called "세뱃돈(sae-baet-ddon)". 돈 means money. It symbolizes good fortune and prosperity for the recipients. You are supposed to bow once and the methods for males and females are slightly different.
game
Do you like playing games at family gatherings? Koreans play the game during traditional holiday gatherings as well. This game is called 윷놀이(yut-no-li). It is a traditional Korean board game that's been enjoyed for centuries. It involves tossing sticks so-called 윷(yut), which have marked sides, to determine how many spaces a player can move their tokens on the board. You can play individually or team up with others. Up to 4 teams can play at once.
The ultimate goal of 윷놀이 is to move all of one's pieces around the board and back to the starting point. However, there are strategic elements involved, such as blocking opponents' pieces, capturing opponents' pieces, and strategic placement of one's own pieces to avoid being captured.
Solar New Year's Day
The January 1st of the solar calendar is also a national holiday! In other words, Koreans celebrate New Year's Day twice a year! Solar New Year's Day is just a one-day holiday, unlike the traditional, three-day Lunar New Year. People may eat 떡국 on this day as well. However, since it is a short holiday, people usually don't do big gatherings or hold ancestral rituals.
People usually wake up early to see the sunrise this day. People usually go to the East Sea or to the mountains to see the sunrise. People wish and make their resolutions by watching this first sunrise of the year.
Korean Holiday: 설날
In this post, I talked about the two types of calendars and one of the most important Korean national holidays, 설날. Isn't it interesting that Koreans celebrate New Year's Day twice? What about your country? Does your country celebrate a special New Year's Day like Korea? If so, please share it with other readers in the comment box!
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