Korean New Year - Seollal [ 설날 ]

Sorry for the super late post about Korean lunar new year [ 설날 ] as I was quite busy recently.

Korean New Year, commonly being pronoun as Seollal [ 설날 ] falls on the first day of the Korean lunar calendar . It is is one of the most important and most celebrated national holiday in Korea. You can say that Seollal [ 설날 ] is truly special occasion for the Korean people.
The celebration of Seollal [ 설날 ] usually lasts for three days - the day before New Year, New Year Day itself and the day after New Year.

Every year is being represented by one of the twelve zodiac signs. These 12 animals take the form of 12 guardian animals deities which are also known as Sibijisin. Sibijisin means the 12 gods of the earth. There will be a rotation of these 12 zodiac signs thus these signs will change on the start with every lunar new year.
This year - 2015 is said to be the year of sheep. Sheep ranks as the 8th animal deity among the Sibijisin.

Origin
Although the origin of Seollal [ 설날 ] is unclear, but it was said that the lunar calendar was first adopted in the ancient Korea's Three Kingdoms period. There are records of Koreans celebration Lunar New Year, tracing to the traditional of Chinese literature. It was said that the Book of Sui and the Book of Tang contains fragments about Koreans celebrating the Lunar New Year in the kingdom of Silla [ 신라 ] .

Custom
Since Seollal [ 설날 ] is major holiday in Korea, many people will make use of these 3 days holiday to return to their hometowns to pay visit to their parents and relatives and also taking the chance to gather with their family.

Beside catching up with their family, it is also a time for paying respect to their ancestors. Charye [ 차례 ] - an ancestral ritual is performed during Seollal [ 설날 ].
In the olden days, many Korean will dress up in Korean traditional clothes - Hanbok [ 한복 ] but nowadays, small families tend to be less formal and choose to wear other formal clothings instead of Hanbok [ 한복 ].

Charye [ 차례 ]
The morning of Seollal [ 설날 ] usually starts off with an ancestral rite - Charye [ 차례 ]. All family members will dressed up in formal wear ( Hanbok [ 한복 ]  or Western formal attire ) and they will gathered at the ritual table and set the table with various dishes of ritual food and an ancestral tablet. Some examples of ritual food are Rice-cake soup [ Tteokguk -떡국 ], vegetables, fruits and more.

Once the ritual table is set, the rite will begins with deep bows from all the family members as greetings to the ancestor spirits. They will then proceeds with offerings and prayers before they end off with bidding farewell the the spirits.
The ritual is conducted as an expression of respect and gratitude to the ancestors and also to pray for the family's well being throughout the year.
After the ancestral. the food on the ritual table will be shared among the family. This traditional is call Eumbok [ 음복 ] which means drinking of blessing. By doing Eumbok [ 음복 ], the family hope that the virtues of their ancestors will be passed on to them. Eumbok [ 음복 ] also represent the receiving of the blessing grant upon the family.

Credits to Irene and Yong for the photo

  

Preparation of Jeon [ 전 ] for Charye [ 차례 ] 

( Credits to Irene and Yong for the photo )

Sebeh 세배
After charye [ 차례 ], people will perform sebae [ 세배 ] to their elders. Sebae [ 세배 ] refers to the the tradition that the younger generation will wish their elders a Happy New Year by going down on both knees and bowed deeply towards the floor. And they will usually say 새해 복 많이 받으세요 [ Sae-hae bok ma-ni ba-deu-se-yo ] when means 'Please receive a lot of luck in the New Year' when they perform sebae [ 세배 ] to their elders.
The elders will then reward the younger generation by giving them 'New Year Money' or 'Pocket Money' called sebaedon [ 세배돈 ]. The elders will also give word of wishes to the children, hoping that their loved one will make lots of money and achieve their goals in the coming year.

Traditional Food
There are 2 kinds of traditional food that Korean will eat during Seollal [ 설날 ] - Ddeokguk [ 떡국 ] and Jeon [ 전 ].

Ddeokguk [ 떡국 ]
Ddeokguk [ 떡국 ] refers to the soup with sliced rice cake. And according to the Korean age calculation, Seollal [ 설날 ] is similar to birthday for Koreans, and eating Ddeokguk [ 떡국 ] is consider part of the birthday celebration. So you will gain a year in age after you have finish eating your Ddeokguk [ 떡국 ].

Ddeokguk [ 떡국 ]

( Credits to Alice for the photo )

Jeon [ 전 ]
Jeon [ 전 ] is another traditional food that will be eaten on Seollal [ 설날 ]. Jeon [ 전 ] refers to pancake like dishes in Korean food. There are many types of jeon [ 전 ] and the most common jeon [ 전 ]  that you can see or eat are Kimchi jeon [ 김치전 ], Pa jeon [ 파전 ] ( pancake make with spring onion ], Hae-mul jeon [ 해물전 ] ( Pancake make with seafood such as octopus, prawn, etc ) and many others.

Credits to Irene and Yong for the photo

( Credits to modernseoul.org for the picture )

Although Ddeokguk [ 떡국 ] and Jeon [ 전 ] are said to be traditional food for Seollal [ 설날 ], however, many people are eating these dishes as and when they have a crave. 

Traditonal Games 

There are a few traditional games that are played during Seollal [ 설날 ], such as Yunnori [ 윷놀이 ], Jegichagi [ 제기차기 ], Neolttwigi [ 널뛰기 ] and Gonggi [ 공기 ]. 

Yunnori [ 윷놀이 ]

Yunnori [ 윷놀이 ] is a kind of board game and it was said that the game was played as early as the period of the Three Kingdom. 

The game is played with 4 half moon-shaped yut sticks. These sticks are being toss to decide how far a token can proceed. 

Yunnori [ 윷놀이 ] 

( Credits to esikorea.org for the picure )

It is said that the game is quite easy to learn regardless of age and everyone can get engage and enjoy the game. 

However, I was kinda of confused with the rules of games just by reading it thus shall not confused everyone with all the words on how to go about playing the game. Will try to experience the game one day before trying to explain the rules of the game. 

Jegichagi [ 제기차기 ]

Jegichagi [ 제기차기 ] is a korean traditional game that is played outdoor and it only requires your foot and Jegi ( an object used to play the game )

Jegi [ 제기 ]

( Credits to hansolbook.com )

Jegi [ 제기 ] looks similar to a shuttlecock but is made of a small coin, paper or cloth. The player will kick the Jegi [ 제기 ] up in the air and has to continue to keep to prevent the Jegi [ 제기 ] from falling to the ground. 

Jegichagi [ 제기차기 ]

( Credits to tastyenglish.co.kr )

This game is actually quite similar to a traditional game - Chapteh of the Malays culture. 

Rules of the game are similar but we used feathers to chapteh instead. 

Chapteh 

( Credits to www.mtradenoveltystore.com )

Neolttwigi [ 널뛰기 ]

Neolttwigi [ 널뛰기 ] is a traditional outdoor game for the females. The game is similar to seesaw, expect that the players will have to stand on the end of the board instead of sitting. 

The player will then jump and propel the person who is at the opposite into the air, Sometimes, acrobatic tricks such as flips or skipping while in the air are being added if the game is being played as a performance. 

Neolttwigi [ 널뛰기 ]

( Credits to coreaplusplus.com )

Gonggi [ 공기 ]

Gonggi [ 공기 ] is a traditional game but is commonly play among the children. The game is played with usually 5 small grape-size pebbles but you can easily buy colourful plastic stones instead of finding pebbles. 

The game begins with each player tossing the 'stones' into the air from the palm of their hands. The player will then try the 'stones' and the person who caught the most 'stones' will start first. 

There are a few levels for the game and the chance will be passed on to the next person if you did not clear the level. 

The 'stones' used for the game

( Credits to korcan50years.com )

Gonggi [ 공기 ]

( Credits to tour.junggu.seoul.kr )

This game is actually quite similar to a traditional game - five stones of the Malays culture.

The rules of the game is about the same just that the 'stones' used are a bit different. 

5 Stones 

( Credits to traditionalmalaygames.blogspot.com )

Tips for travelling during Seollal [ 설날 ] 

Do note that during the period of Seollal [ 설날 ], the usual busy city of Seoul will be become quiet as a lot of people will returned to their hometown in order to celebrate Seollal [ 설날 ] with their families. The street will be empty and most of the shops and restaurants will be closed.  

However, there are still places whereby traditional activities will be offered throughout the national holiday. 

Gyeongbokgung [ 경복궁 ], Changdeokgung [ 창덕궁 ] and Deoksugung [ 덕수궁 ] will be playing hosts to allow tourists to experience traditional programs such as learning how to perform sebae [ 세배 ].

Various museums will also offered activities to allow experiencing of traditional games and programs during the holiday. 

So to prevent disappointment, please check out the details and research on where are places that you can visit and things you can do before planning a holiday in Korea during Seollal [ 설날 ]. 

Hope this article helps you to understand more about Seollal [ 설날 ] although is a bit late.