Did you know that Asia celebrates New Year on a different date than us? It is called Lunar New Year, and this year it was on February 17th. In South Korea, this day is called Seollal (Sul-laal). During this day, families come together to eat traditional food, play games and welcome a new year. Chuseok (Choo-suk) is a harvest holiday that is just like Thanksgiving back home. People often call it Korean Thanksgiving! Families spend time together, remember their ancestors and eat special rice cakes called songpyeon (song-pe-yun). Another Korean tradition is on the fashion side. Hanbok (han-book) is a traditional Korean clothing that people wear during holidays, weddings, special events or just for pretty pictures. Respecting your elders is very important in South Korea. It is traditional to bow and speak to elderly people formally. It is so important that there is a level of Korean vocabulary only used when addressing elders, and it is very formal and important. Children’s Day is celebrated on May 5. Yes, it is an entire day celebrating children! It’s a day when families celebrate children by giving gifts or doing fun activities together like going to parks, sports games, arcades, and amusement parks. One of the funniest traditions I found was Black Day. It is celebrated on April 14, and it is when some people eat black noodles if they don’t get anything on Valentine’s Day.
