Chu Seok: the Korean Thanksgiving

Chu Seok, Korean Thanksgiving Day is on August 15 in the lunar calendar. It was September 15, 2016. There is always a full moon on this holiday and people celebrate their harvest, foods and life with family. On Chu Seok, people go to their hometowns and meet with their relatives. After they gather, they pay respect to the spirits of their ancestors. People perform ancestral worship to their dead ancestors and living family. Then, they visit the tombs of their ancestors to trim plants and clean the area around the tomb, and offer food, drink, and crops to their ancestors. They make traditional food, songpyeon and wear traditional clothes: Hanbok.

    One of the major foods in Chuseok is songpyeon, a Korean traditional rice cake which contains stuffing made with ingredients such as sesame seeds, black beans, mung beans, cinnamon, pine nut, walnut, chestnut, jujube, and honey. All of the relatives and family gather and make it. Usually, grandmothers teach children how to make a great songpyeon. Lots of people believe, “Someone who makes a beautiful songpyeon gives  birth to a cute and pretty baby.” So little children believe this one and they try to make a great dish. 

    Also, the shape of the songpyeon has a special meaning. We have to put the ingredients on the round dough. At this time, it means Full moon. And if we roll it and make it steamed, the rolled shape means Half moon. A Korean legend stated that these two shapes ruled the destinies of the two greatest rival kingdoms, Baekje and Silla. “Baekje is full-moon and Silla is half moon” was found on a turtle’s back and it predicted the fall of the Baekje and the rise of the Silla. The prophecy came true when Silla defeated Baekje in their war. Ever since, Koreans started to refer to a half-moon shape as the indicator of the bright future or victory. Therefore, during Chuseok, families gather together and eat half-moon-shaped Songpyeon under the full moon, wishing themselves a brighter future.

    On Chu Seok, we wear traditional clothes, named Han Bok. It has vivid color and curved lines without pocket. Han Bok was originated from Joseon dynasty, which is the previous era of today South Korea. We wear the Han Bok on wedding day, holiday or special days. Women wear Jeogori (upper garment) ,Chima ( Skirt) , hair decorations and socks. Men wear Jeogori (upper garment), Baji (pants) with socks. 

    Also, on Chu Seok, we play Yunnori, which is a traditional board game played in Korea, especially during Korean New Year and Chu Seok. This is kind of race with five sticks. The origin of this game is not clear but lots of history scholar insists that it was stared from 57 BCE or 668 CE. Each five sticks are included of animals such as pig, dog, sheep, cow and horse. People throw the five sticks to the air and each animal sticks let people know where to go. 

    We play a traditional gambling game on Chu Seok, too. It is called Go-Stop. Each relatives and family members bet their money on this game.

 Go-Stop is a Korean card game. Go-Stop is also known as Godori or Hwa Too. Originally its name was Godori and Hwa too but as time passed everyone calls it Go-Stop. The reason why this card game is called Go-Stop is each player who gets 3 points he or she has to decide whether to go or stop. This decision is really  important because if other players get a score before his or her turn, other players who get over the 3 points win.