Happy Chuseok!  So what’s Chuseok?  It’s referred to as the Korean Thanksgiving and is really a harvest celebration.  Chuseok is also known as “Hangawi,” and it’s translated as “Harvest Moon Festival.”  Chuseok is a three-day holiday in Korea celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar.

As an agrarian society throughout history, Hangawi was the day in which Koreans thanked the ancestors for the year’s harvest and shared their abundance with family and friends.

So what we’re really saying is that it’s a BIG holiday in Korea.  So what do people do during this holiday?  Of course they eat and drink (alcohol)!  Isn’t that what holidays are for: gathering family together and having a feast.  There are certain customs with Chuseok.

On the morning of Chuseok Day, Songpyeon (type of Korean rice cake) and food prepared with the year’s fresh harvest are arranged to give thanks to ancestors through Charye (ancestor memorial service). After Charye, families visit their ancestors’ graves and engage in Beolcho, where weeds around the burial grounds are removed. As the night nears, families and friends enjoy the beautiful view of the full harvest moon and play folk games such as Ganggangsullae (Korean circle dance).

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Source:  Korea Sparkling

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