On Chuseok, many Koreans wear hanbok (traditional attire), play folk games like Ssireum, and eat songpyeon, half-moon-shaped rice cakes. It is also very common for family members to give each other expensive gift sets containing fruits, desserts and drinks.
Many stores, restaurants and government departments close during the holiday, so it might not be the best time to travel in Seoul.
In September, I learned about Chuseok, the Mid-Autumn Festival. This is a Korean holiday celebrated on the 15th day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar. The lunar calendar is associated with Korea’s agricultural history and is a system used to track time based on the phases of the moon. Every year, Chuseok falls on a different day, and the holiday is celebrated on the day before and the day after as well. The "moon cakes" are shaped to celebrate the phases of the moon.
Chuseok is celebrated among family members as a way to show gratitude to their ancestors for the plentiful harvest. Many Korean families hold memorial services for deceased relatives. They prepare rice, rice cakes and alcohol as offerings to their ancestors.
