Happy Chuseok 2019

Wishing all our Sisters in Korea and all who have lived in Korea, a very Happy Chuseok 추석 (Harvest Moon Festival) 2019.

Chuseok, 추석,the  Harvest Moon Festival is the Korean Thanksgiving time and is one of the most important cultural holidays in Korea when most people leave for the countryside and grandparents house to carry on a number of ancient traditions and most importantly to feast on abundant homemade delicacies. This Harvest Festival is celebrated both in North and South Korea for three days.

Originally called Hangawi, the celebration falls on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, during the full moon.     Expect a feast of traditional Korean dishes and bear witness as families make offerings to their ancestors. Two major traditions of the Chuseok are ‘Charye’ (memorial services at home to honour ancestors) and ‘Seongmyo’ (visit to the ancestral graves).

The Chuseok celebration can’t go on without a special festive treat called songpyeon. It’s a rice cake with sesame seeds, beans and other typical ingredients. These cakes are either white or coloured pink, yellow, purple, or green. Hangwa is another cake-like cookie eaten during the festival. It’s made with rice flour, honey, fruit and roots.

Other traditions include the Ganggangsullae, a traditional Korean dance performed by women dressed in authentic silk clothing known as Hanbok. The dancers begin their performance in a circle holding hands. As the dance progresses, the shape transforms into other forms such as serpentine, several smaller circles, and others. The dancing is done to the music of a specially appointed singer.

After the meal preparation and ancestral worship, the family will gather to have big meals together. Some Korean families will visit their ancestor’s graveyards located in the deep mountains, while others engage in family activities together.

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