February 19th is the Lunar New Year. Most people commonly know this day as the Chinese New Year, but actually, Lunar New Year is shared by several countries and regions in Asia and goes far beyond the Chinese community.
This is, how Koreans celebrate Lunar New Year:
Food
Koreans eat “ddukguk.” This is a soup with “dduk” or rice cakes. Sometimes it will have “mandu” or dumplings.
New Year’s Eve
On New Year’s Eve, the women in the neighborhood will get together to make the rice cakes and dumplings for the entire family the next day. In Korea, on a traditional holiday, extended families get together, usually at the head (oldest) family.
Ancestor Worship
Originally from Chinese Confucianism, Koreans practice ancestor worship. Before breakfast (consisting of ddukguk), a table is set for the ancestors. There are foods such as rice, apples, kalbi (barbequed meat marinated in soy sauce based sauce), dried chestnuts, and much more. Families place either pictures or names of ancestors on the table behind the food.
Once the table is set, a spoon is stuck in the middle of the rice. The belief is that dead spirits can only eat with a spoon that’s stuck in rice. The entire family gathers in front of the table. From oldest to youngest, each person in the family pours rice wine in a cup. Sometimes, to expedite the process, only the oldest members of the family pour the ancestor a drink. (In Korea it is respectful to pour the drink to the elder. It is also disrespectful to refuse a drink from an elder). After pouring the drink, each person, or each generation does a traditional bow towards the picture/name of the ancestor. This process is similar to a funeral and should be taken extremely seriously.
Bowing for Money
Once this is done, the youngest generations bow while wishing them a happy new year to the adults for money. Each aunt and uncle will give the kids a sum of money.
