Seollal is the Lunar New Year celebration. Along with Chuseok, it is one of Korea's two largest folk celebrations. Also like Chuseok, it is accompanied by a massive exodus from the cities as Koreans head to their ancestral hometowns in the countryside to celebrate. Memorial celebrations are held for the departed ancestors. Accordingly, a massive amount of food is prepared, a task that traditionally kept Korean womenfolk very busy during the holiday.
The name of the holiday comes from the Korean word "to calm." The holiday is so named because Koreans considered it important to use the holiday to carefully prepare for the coming year.
The first major ceremony of Seollal is the Charye, which involves bowing to honor ancestors that have departed this world. This is followed by the Sebae, three bows performed by younger people for their elders, often their parents or grandparents. The elders will then bestow upon the bowing people some words of encouragement or good luck. Nowadays, elders give those who bow to them "Sebae Money" as a small gift. After the bowing is completed, it's time to eat.
The dish most associated with Seollal is tteokguk, or rice cake soup. This hearty soup is made with thin, coin-shaped slices of rice cake. It's said it's important to eat a bowl of rice cake soup on "Seollal" in order to grow one year older. The rice cake, before its sliced and placed in the soup, is long and cylindrical. Because of its length, it symbolizes long life.
A number of folk games are associated with the holiday as well. Among them is "Yutnori," a game involving throwing sticks into the air and moving pieces on a board depending on how the sticks land. Kite-flying is also a traditional game played during the holiday.
Like the Chuseok holiday, you'd better book train and domestic flights well in advance if you plan to travel during the holiday.
[Input: Jan.04, 2007, 09:49/Modified: May.09, 2008, 13:26]
Source : Tourism Promotion Division, Seoul Metropolitan Government
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