Seollal

Korean Lunar New Year : 

Korean Lunar New Year Seollal

Lunar New Year this year is February 3rd to 5th, 2011 : 

Lunar New Year this year is February 3rd to 5th, 2011 In Korea, Seollal (also Seolnal) refers to Lunar New Year’s Day, Korea’s biggest holiday of the year. In the past, almost everyone headed to their hometowns to perform ceremonial rites paying their respect to their ancestors, which is why the day before and after Seollal are also designated holidays and why government offices, banks and many businesses/services are closed.

Year of the Rabbit : 

Rabbits put on their hanbok threads at an event at Everland amusement park in Youngin, south of Seoul, Thursday , marking 2011, the Year of the Rabbit Year of the Rabbit

Korean Traditional Clothes : 

Korean Traditional Clothes Hanbok (한복) refers to traditional Korean clothing.

Traditions of Seollal : 

Traditions of Seollal Korean New Year is typically a family-oriented holiday. The three-day holiday is used by many to return to their home towns to visit their parents and other relatives where they perform the ancestral ritual known as charye (차례). Many Koreans dress up in colorful hanbok. Tteokguk (떡국) (soup with rice cakes) is commonly served. Korean Lunar New Year bow to Elder people and to Parents

‘Sebae' : 

‘Sebae' All cultures have their own greeting customs. According to Korean tradition, the formal greeting custom on special occasions is a bow where you get down on both knees and bend your upper body. This kind of greeting is known as 'jeol'. The Seollal jeol is called 'sebae', and this tradition is strictly observed even today. On the official day of Seollal, Koreans change into Hanboks to symbolize new beginnings starting off with a clean body and heart where they pay their respects to the elders by bowing or doing sebae. Seollal Jeol

Woman's Sebae : 

Woman's Sebae ① Place your right hand above your left hand. Stand up straight with your hands resting in front of your lower abdomen (right below the navel). ② Release your hands naturally as you bend your knees and sit. ③ Rest your hands in front of your knees, placing them at shoulder's width. Then bow your head as you bend your upper body. ④ Take your hands off the floor as you raise your upper body. ⑤ Resume your standing position with your hands in front of your lower abdomen

Myths and tales : 

Myths and tales The iconicism of the moon rabbit can be found in ancient Korea as well. The age-old tale of rabbits pounding the elixir of life in a large mortar beneath a laurel tree on the moon dates as far back as the 3rd century B.C. in Qin-era China. Many relics from the period include artworks and figurines featuring the rabbit. A moon and/or laurel tree can often be found in the background. The rabbit’s association with the moon symbolizes yin. In a popular folktale, the rabbit was kidnapped by a sea turtle to present his liver before the ill Dragon King of the Sea, but the clever creature managed to escape by lying that he left his liver on land and thus needed to go fetch it.

Welcoming the New Year the Korean way : 

Welcoming the New Year the Korean way Tteokguk is a traditional Korean dish eaten during the celebration of the Korean New Year. The dish consists of the broth/soup (guk) with thinly sliced rice cakes (tteok). It is tradition to eat tteokguk on New Year's day because it is believed to grant the consumer luck for the forthcoming year and gain an additional year of life. Many Koreans greet the New Year (both Western and lunar) by visiting East coast locations such as Gangneung and Donghae in Gangwon province, where they are most likely to see the first rays of the New Year's sun.

Korean Folk games : 

Korean Folk games Yut is a traditional board game played in Korea, especially during Korean New Year. The suffix nori means "game". Research suggests that yut was played as early as the Three Kingdoms (57 BCE - 668 CE), citing the Taiping Yulan. Neolttwigi or nol-ttwigi (Korean: 널뛰기) is a traditional outdoor game of Korean women and girls that is typically enjoyed on traditional holiday. Neolttwigi is similar to seesaw, except that participants stand on each end of the Neol (board) and jump, propelling the person opposite into the air. Traditionally young children will fly kites on Seolall Traditionally men and boys would play jegi chagi (제기차기), a game in which a light object is wrapped in paper or cloth, and then kicked in a “hacky sack” like manner.

Korean New Year Celebration : 

Korean New Year Celebration Korean Traditional New Year Drum Session Traditional Korean dance BuChaeChum (부채춤)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! : 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Seollal