Koreans usually celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival on the full moon day of August. This is the time when they hold the Mid-Autumn Festival, reunite with their families, graves to commemorate their ancestors.
In most Asian countries, the Mid-Autumn Festival will take place on August 15 of the Lunar Calendar. Particularly in Korea, Mid-Autumn Festival is the largest festival held in the year and usually lasts for a period of 3 days. This festival is called Chuseok, which means autumn night, full moon night. This is also the time when the people of kimchi land have finished harvesting their crops and can enjoy their lives freely.
On the occasion of Mid-Autumn Festival, the Koreans return to their hometowns to reunite with their families. At the same time, people will go to ancestral graves to mow the lawn and clear the surrounding objects. In particular, the people of kimchi will prepare a tray to worship their ancestors to express their gratitude. This offering includes confectionery, agricultural products, fruits, etc. Besides, the ceremony is quite similar to Vietnamese Thanh Minh festival.
After performing the rituals, all family members will quickly gather in the main house. This is where they can perform the Charye ritual on the first morning in Chuseok. At this time, family members will gather together to easily enjoy the special dishes of the ceremony. This is the harvest of their own cultivation and care.
A special dish during Chuseok is rice cake. This cake is made from glutinous rice flour and formed into a semicircular shape. Unlike other countries, Koreans see the crescent moon as a symbol of fullness and happiness. According to them, the waning moon will then be round, which will multiply and flourish.
Usually, cakes will have many different types of fillings. In the outside of the cake will be white and a lot of other colors depending on the taste. Pink made from strawberries, yellow from pumpkin, dark green is mugwort leaf, etc. Once done, the cake will be steamed with fresh pine needles.
Besides the cakes above, fruit is an indispensable food in the ceremony. Persimmons are a must-have fruit because September is when Korea starts to harvest persimmons. Delicious, sweet, not acrid and crunchy of pink makes many people fascinated. In this country, people will use persimmons to enjoy with wine or sujeonggwa. In particular, sujeonggwa is a juice made from persimmon fruit with ginger, sugar, cinnamon, ... with a cool, pleasant sweetness.
Tourists come to Korea on this occasion, after witnessing the ceremony will take part in festivals such as juldarigi, ganggangsullae dance, wrestling. These are extremely fun activities and a great experience for tourists.
The different traditions of the Korean Mid-Autumn Festival bring visitors interesting things. This year, Korea's Mid-Autumn Festival will be held on September 13 of the solar calendar. If you really like this place, you can plan it yourself in the future. Have a nice trip in kimchi land!
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