Seshi Customs
The most important of Korea's annual (seshi) customs have origins that date back millennia and are observed according to the oriental lunar calendar. They have traditionally combined ancestral homage, family gatherings, and entertainment.
The lunar calendar begins with Sol, lunar New Year's Day, and its ancestral rites, ceremonial bows, and traditional foods. This follows immediately after Sottal, the last lunar month of the year, in which preparations for an auspicious new year are made. Traditionally, Sol is only the beginning of the New Year's festivities, which stretch from the new moon on Sol to the full moon of Taeborum, fifteen days later. During this interval, farmers' bands play door-to-door, kites are flown, and the stubbles of rice paddies are set ablaze to ensure an auspicious new year. On the evening of Taeborum, children twirl tin cans of bright coal, representing full moon circles. In the past, village stone and torch fights were also engaged in by young men, with a year of good fortune secured by the winning village.
On the full moon of the eighth lunar month, the Harvest Moon Festival, Ch'usok, is celebrated. This day is equal in importance to Sol for observing ancestral rites and family reunions. Observances at ancestral tombs are made on Hanshik, 105 days after the winter solstice. The late spring celebration of Tano, the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, traditionally included important ancestral veneration rites but today is filled with gaiety and entertainment.
Buddha's birthday is celebrated in Korea on the eighth day of the fourth lunar month (usually in May) and is known as the Feast of the Lanterns. Long rows of lanterns line the way to Buddhist temples, where elaborate and solemn rituals are held; temple courtyards are filled with hanging lanterns, each accompanied by an individual supplication. The day also includes the ceremonial release of fish into streams and dancing around stone pagodas on temple grounds.
Sambok is collectively the three hottest days of summer, Ch'obok, Chungbok, and Malbok, designated as the first, middle, and last day of summer heat and occurring ten to twenty days apart. On these days it has long been the tradition to have chicken or dog soup to restore health and fight off the effects of the overbearing summer heat.
Ch'ilsok, the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, falls in late summer. On this day summer clothes were traditionally washed and dried in the sun and maidens looked to the stars to pray for improved weaving skills. Ch'ilsok is closely associated with a folk tale of a herd boy and his love, a weaving girl, who were banished to opposite ends of the heavens by her father and only allowed to meet on this day. It is said that on this day no magpies or crows can be seen, as they have left to form a bird-bridge over the Milky Way for the two lovers. Rain on Ch'ilsok is said to be the tears of joy shed by the two on the occasion of their annual meeting.
The winter solstice, Tongji, was traditionally a day to drive off evil spirits with porridge. The porridge, made of red beans (p'at), was first offered to the ancestors and then sprinkled on the house and courtyard to dispel evil spirits, who were thought to fear the color red. The red porridge was then eaten, as it still often is today.
Further Reading
Adams, Edward B. (1995) Korea Guide. Seoul: Seoul International Publishing House.
Choe, Sang-su. (1983) Annual Customs of Korea. Seoul: Seomun-dang Publishing Co.
Koo, John H., and Andrew C. Nahm, eds. (1997) An Introduction to Korean Culture. Elizabeth, NJ: Hollym International.
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