Korean New Year
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Korean New Year | |
| Also called | Lunar New Year |
|---|---|
| Observed by | Korean people around the world |
| Type | Korean, cultural, Buddhist |
| Significance | The first day of the Korean calendar (lunar calendar) |
| 2007 date | February 18 |
| 2008 date | February 7 |
| 2009 date | January 26 |
| Related to | Chinese New Year |
Korean New Year (Korean: Seollal; hangul: 설날 or Gujeong 구정, hanja: 舊正) is the first day of the lunar Korean calendar. It is the most important of the traditional Korean holidays. It consists of a period of celebrations, starting on New Year's Day. The Korean New Year holidays lasts three days, and is considered a more important holiday than the solar New Year's Day. [1] It is worth noting that the term Seollal is also used to refer to the solar new year.
Korean New Year generally falls on the day of the second new moon after winter solstice, unless there is a very rare intercalary eleventh or twelfth month in the lead-up to the New Year. In such a case, the New Year falls on the day of the third new moon after the solstice (next occurrence will be 2033).
Korean New Year is generally the same day as Chinese New Year except when new moon occurs between 15:00 UTC (Korean midnight) and 16:00 UTC (Chinese midnight). In such case (on average once every 24 years), new moon happens on the "next day" in Korea compared to China, and Korean New Year will be one day after Chinese New Year.
[edit] Customs
Korean new year is typically a holiday for the whole family. Many Koreans dress up in hanbok, the traditional Korean clothing. Children visit their parents which they wish a happy new year by bowing for them. This is accompanied by the words saehae bok manhi badeseyo (새해 복 많이 받으세요) which literally means receive a lot of new year's luck. Parents reward this by giving their children new year's money. Tteok guk (떡국) (soup with rice cakes) is commonly served during this holiday.
Similar to the practice of neighboring Asian cultures (see Red envelope), elders give out money to their children, grandchildren, nephews and other children they greet. Every year, the Bank of Korea gives out crisp new banknotes to Korean banks which in turn distribute them to their customers who prefer crisp banknotes for the gift money.
Many Koreans are eager to greet the New Year (both Western and lunar) by visiting the East coast such as the cities of Gangneung and Donghae in the province of Gangwon, where they most likely to see the first rays of the sun as it rises for the first time in the New Year.[2]
[edit] References
- ^ Nguyen, Anna (2007-02-12). Korean New Year. The Arkansas Traveler.
- ^ Chan, L. P. (2008-01-03). Diverse New Year's Celebrations Around the World.
