From my previous post you have seen how the 1st and 60th birthdays are most important to the Koreans, so today I shall tell you about some of the festivals and ancestral worship and the types of tteok prepared for these celebrations.
Koreans always prepare tteok and hangwa (traditional Korean sweets and cookies) for festive and seasonal occasions and Ancestral Memorial Services. They are usually enjoyed as desserts these days. The varieties of tteok are actually based on the method of making them.
Sirutteok is rice powder mixed with other ingredients and steamed in a siru, an earthenware- Jeolpyeon and injeolmi are made by steaming glutinous rice and pounding them to make a firm and sticky dough.
- Bukkumi and hwajeon are kneaded glutinous rice dough shaped into small circles and pan-fried.
- Jeungpyeon is a steamed rice cake made with white rice flour and rice wine. It is also called Sultteok, or rice wine cake.
- Yaksik, also called yakban or yakbap, is steamed sticky rice made with chestnuts, jujubes (Korean dates), honey, pine nuts and cinnamon.
Let’s start with Danil, New Year’s Day, the first day of the year which falls on 1st January. Actually, the festivities would have started on Seotdal Geumeum or New Year’s Eve, on 31st December when people would stay up all night long with all doors open to receive ancestral spirits.
The last day of December was called Jeseok or Jeya. It was a must for those people with debts to pay them off prior to the beginning of the new year. On this day, people caught birds, bowed in greeting to elders, or engaged in a ritualistic cleaning called suse. Bowing on that day was intended to be a report to the elders that one had safely spent the year without any accident. For suse the house was lit by a lighted torch at various places to symbolically prevent the approach of minor demons.
Also, while housewives prepared food to treat the New Year's guests, men cleaned in and outside the house. In other words, they were getting rid of the past year's minor demons and misfortunes and were preparing to begin a new year with a pure spirit.
Additionally, if one slept on this night, it was believed that one's eyebrows would turn white; therefore, it was the custom for people to stay up all night. When a sleeping child was found, his or her eyebrows would be painted by someone with white powder; the next morning people would tease the child by saying that the color of his or her eyebrows' had changed into white.
If you can recall from my post about watching the first sunrise of the year, people would be spending that night at the respective sites where they wanted to watch the sunrise, where entertainment and other programs would be drawn up to keep the people awake. In addition to tteokguk, rice cakes like injeolmi, golmubyeong, juak, and hangwa (traditional biscuits) will be served on New Year’s Day.
Dates of festivals having the same number for its day and month according to the lunar calendar, (especially odd numbers) were believed to be good days to celebrate life and cheerfulness based on the Yin-Yang philosophy; like Seollal (1st day of the 1st lunar month), Samjinnal (3rd day of the 3rd lunar month), Dano (5th day of the 5th lunar month, Chilseok (7th day of the 7th lunar month) and Jungyangjeol (9th Day of the 9th lunar month.)
Perhaps I should tell you something about the different types of ancestral worship first so that you can have a better picture.
The old Chinese book ‘Yeseo’ writes that ‘King performs worship ritual to heaven, feudal lords to nature and gentry to their ancestors.’
In Korea, ancestral worship is referred to by the generic term jerye or jesa. Notable examples of jerye include Munmyo jerye and Jongmyo jerye, which are performed periodically each year for revered Confucian scholars and kings of ancient times, respectively. Jerye is a formality to cherish the memory of the deceased, and show sincerity and appreciation to them. The reason of performing Jerye is to continue filial piety towards ancestors.
Koreans believe that when people die, their spirits do not immediately depart; they stay with their descendants for four generations. During this period, the deceased are still regarded as family members and Koreans reaffirm the relationship between ancestors and descendants through charye on special days like Seollal (Lunar New Year’s Day) and Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving Day) as well as on the anniversary of the ancestor’s passing (kije). Both the kije and charye involve the preparation of special foods – the appearance of the food being as important as the quality and taste. Although certain elements vary from region to region, and family to family, the basic food arrangements are duplicated in households across the nation.
Charye honors all ancestors for four generations back. It is normally performed on Seollal or Chuseok morning, with some families also performing it on Hansik and Dano.
Gijesa is a memorial service which is held on the anniversary of the ancestor's death every year and is celebrated by families as a private ceremony. For such occasions, the women of the family traditionally prepare an elaborate set of dishes, including tteok, jeon, jeok, and so forth.
Memorial services that are performed in front of tombs are called "seongmyo".
Myosa are performed at the tomb site in the 10th lunar month, conducted in memory of old ancestors (of five or more generations).
The kije, however, is traditionally performed at midnight on the even of the ancestor’s death, although these days, most families conduct the ceremony earlier in the evening. Only one ancestor or ancestral couple is honored in the kije.
Every year, family members worship their ancestors on the anniversaries of their death. Rice cakes must be prepared for this ceremony. Musokhaenguiwha deokui p'ungsok (Exorcisms) Musokhaengui is an exorcism executed by a shaman to expel ghosts and evils, wish for fortunes, and give blessings. Rice cake plays an important role to appease ghosts. Chungp'yeon, kyemyeondeok, geomyeondeok, and geop'ip'at p'yeon are used in this ceremony.
Seollal, (the 1st day of the 1st lunar month) or the official Korean New Year’s Day, falls sometime between late January and mid February. It is the most important of all the traditional Korean holidays. Seollal is typically a family-oriented holiday. Many Koreans return to their home towns to visit their parents and other relatives where they perform the ancestral ritual known as charye. What is charye? Charye is the holding of an ancestor memorial service on festive days, with food and wine offered in sacrifice to the ancestral tablet. One important thing to remember about the tteok to be used for the charye on Seollal, is that the colour of the rice cake should preferably be white and those colourful ones should be avoided altogether.
The entire family would gather on that day dressed in their Hanbok. And after the charye ceremonies children will perform Saebae, and wish their parents a happy new year, by performing one deep traditional bow and saying “saehae bok manhi badeuseyo (새해 복 많이 받으세요) which translates to, please receive many blessings in the new year.” Parents typically reward this gesture by giving their children New Year’s money (usually in the form of crisp new notes) and offering words of wisdom, or deokdam.
After performing saebae, seongmyo was next. Seongmyo is a visit to the ancestral graves to bow and inform them of the new year. Seongmyo was a custom that was equal to doing saebae for living people; it was an absolutely necessary act of etiquette for descendants.
Needless to say, there will be lots of food to savour. On New Year's Day, all Koreans start the day with tteokguk (sliced rice cake soup), and wish for health, happiness and good luck. Tteokguk is also called Byeongtang or Byenggang. Byeong means rice cake and tang and gang means soup according to the Chinese characters. According to the book 'ChosunSangsikmundap', Seollal, the first day of the New Year, is a new start for all creation, and people started eating tteokguk made from 'white rice' to emphasize the day's pure and solemn nature. Shaped into round sticks, the Garae-tteok used for Tteokguk symbolizes long life. When sliced the rounded pieces look like the shape of coins, bringing prosperity. Tteokguk is a special and meaningful dish symbolizing the wishes for long life and prosperity, and a pure and solemn mind for a new start. Cheomsebyeong is another name of Tteokguk. Cheom means adding and se means age. Thus eating a bowl of Tteokguk on New Year's Day means that you have grown a year older. So people sometimes ask "How many bowls of Tteokguk have you eaten "instead of "How old are you?"
Jeongwol means the first month of the year and is the time when people plan for the year and would have their fortune of the year told. It was customary to attempt to foretell one's future or how good or bad the harvest for the year would be. Particularly, tojeongbigyeol was very popular among the common people because of its monthly explanation of fortune and its high accuracy.
Jeongwoldaeboreum is an important and meaningful day of the Korean annual customs, so it is specially referred to as Daeboreum.
Daeboreum, the first full moon of the year, is celebrated on the 15th day of the 1st lunar month. During this holiday, farmers and fishermen pray for a bountiful harvest and catch, and ordinary households express a yearning for a fortuitous year and the prevention of bad luck by preparing special dishes of seasonal vegetables.
In olden times, on the night before Daeboreum, the farmers would burn the dry grass on the ridges between the rice fields. Charcoal fires would blaze in cans, through which holes were pierced, that were placed along the rice fields. Although the purpose was to get rid of insects that would have destroyed new crops that would soon be planted, children had fun dancing and whirling around the cans.
These days, people hold a special bonfire and on Jeju Island, there’s an annual Daeboreum Festival, complete with bonfire and other activities.
People, in the past and still today, will climb mountains to catch the rising of the first full moon of the lunar year. It was said that the first person to see the moon rise will have good luck all year round.
Ogokbap, a five-"grain" rice consisting of rice, millet, Indian millet, beans, and red beans, is traditionally served on Daeboreum morning, along with various dried herbs.
Yaksik, made from glutinous rice, chestnuts, pinenuts, honey, sauce, and sesame oil is one of the days’ special treats. People also get to eat Wonsobyeong (rice cake balls) on this day. In those days Yaksik was a real treat and not available to everyone because the ingredients were expensive and difficult to get for most. .
Farmers would often share ogokbap with their neighbours in the belief that sharing the food with at least 3 households would bring luck throughout the year. After they ate their ogokbap in the morning, farmers would give some to their cattle, along with wild vegetables. It’s said that if the animals ate the rice first, it would be a prosperous year, but if they went first for the vegetables, it would be a lean year.
In the past, people would crack nuts with their teeth – a ritual, it was said, that would help keep one’s teeth healthy for the year and prevent skin problems such as boils, etc. Needless to say, that is no longer a common Daeboreum practice. However, nuts are still a part of the festivities.
Chunghwa-cheol is held on the 1st Day of the 2nd Lunar Month. This ritual originated to motivate the slaves at the time of starting the farming. People made moon rice cakes and ate one for each year of their age, especially for slaves. Songpyeon (stuffed, pine-flavoured rice cakes) were also made for this occasion.
Samjinnal, often called Samjiri is famous as a day when migrant swallows return. This is the biggest holiday in spring, and various events and festivals for welcoming spring are performed on that day.
People ate jindallae hwajeon (azalea pan-fried rice cake) which was a type of seasonal food to eat outside and enjoy nature in the Spring. Hwajeon was commonly eaten at hwajeon nori a traditional custom held since the Goryeo dynasty (918-1392), literally meaning "flower cake play". In spring, women went on a picnic carrying with them glutinous rice flour and beoncheol, a thick frying pan near a stream on Samjinnal which falls on the 3rd Day of the 3rd Lunar Month. They plucked azaleas or any available edible flowers at hand where they set up their picnic and made hwajeon with the ingredients. The version made with edible azaleas is called jindallae hwajeon or dugyeon hwajeon and is regarded as the most representative hwajeon.
Hansik, 105 days after Dongji, is one of the four major festive holidays including Seollal, Dano, and Chuseok. The term Hansik is derived from an old custom of not lighting fires, thus eating cold food. It is said that the origin of this holiday goes back to ancient China where the day was made to console Gaechachu, a loyal subject of Jin. Being chased by a treacherous subject, Gaechachu was in hiding at Mount Myun. Knowing Gaechachu's loyalty, Mungong went to find Gaechachu only to return with nothing. Mungong's last attempt to find Gaechachu was by setting fire to the mountain. Yet Gaechachu did not come out and was burned alive. Ever since then people had a custom of eating cold rice to commemorate his death.
On this day, the country holds sacrificial rites at Jongmyo (Royal Shrine) and Neungwon. Ordinary people hold their own memorial services and visit their families' ancestral graves. If the graves are worn out they will lay fresh turf in a custom called Gaesacho. Then, they offer food, fruits, and wine, and finally make bows in front of the tombs. People also plant trees around the graves.
Ssukdanja, Ssuktteok (Rice Cake made with Mugwort) are the rice cakes eaten on this day.
Ch'op'ail, Buddha's Birthday, is held on the 8th day of the 4th lunar month. The most typical custom of this day is the merrymaking at the lantern festival. Many people also call this day the Lantern Festival Day.On this day paper lanterns are paraded around the local temple during the day and lit at dusk. Prayers concerning family welfare and Buddha's enlightenment are said throughout the day. The paper lanterns paraded often have prayers written on them.
People make siru-tteok, neutitteok, ssuktteok, jjintteok yangsaek juak (pan-fried rice cake in two colors) and hwajeon) on this day.
On Dano, the 5th day of the 5th lunar month, farmers took a day off from the fields for joint festivities marking the completion of sowing, while women washed their hair in "changpo water" (water boiled with sweet iris ) in the hope of preventing misfortune.
Dano, also called “Surinal” in Korean is believed to be the oldest holiday, which marked the beginning of summer, and is a day to pray for favourable farming weather. Dano was a major holiday in the old days, but interest today has greatly decreased except in a few provinces.
In the past, Koreans on Dano day ate rice cakes named “surichitteok” made with various herbs known to be traditional Dano food. Jeungpyeon (fermented rice cake) was also eaten The Dongguksesigi says, "On Dano, they make rice cake picking some kind of marsh plant called Surichwi in the mountain or make rice cake with mugwort." Since the shape of the rice cake looks like a wheel, this holiday is named as 'Suritnal'.
On Dano, women swung on swings (Geunettwigi), while men wrestled in traditional Korean style ssireum. In the picture titled 'Danopungjeong (Elegance of Dano)' by the famous artist Sin, Yun-bok, of theJoseon period, it showed the women in Hanbok rising up to the sky with their skirts blowing in the wind. There was such a scene in the drama “Painter of the Wind.”
Yudo (15th Day of 6th Lunar Month)
Early in the morning on this day, people prepared noodles, rice cakes, and fruits to worship their ancestors. In farming communities, people also had a ceremony to wish for a good harvest. The rice cakes prepared for the ceremony included sanghwabyeong (made with flour mixed with alcohol) and milcheonbyeong (made with flour and wrapped with fried vegetables). Hwajeon and tteok sudan (sweet cake) are also eaten on this day.
Chilseok is on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month. Traditionally, this is the day when a special ceremony is held for the stars that symbolize the annual encounter of the Gyeonu and Jiknyeo planets placed on each end of the galaxy. According to myths, Gyeonu and Jiknyeo's love for each other brought the anger of the King of Heaven and therefore met once a year the night before Chilseok across the galaxy. Crows and magpies are said to have gathered to form a bridge for the two lovers' reunion, and this bridge was called the Ojakgyo.
During Chilseok, it is tradition to eat wheat-flour noodles and grilled wheat cake. Chilseok is known as the last period to have a chance of enjoying wheat based foods, since the cold winds expected after Chilseok ruin the good scent of wheat. Therefore these dishes are a must for the dinner table. People also used to eat wheat pancake called milijeonbyeong, and sirutteok sesame rice cake, milseolgi (white rice cake) and juak (pan-fried rice cake).
The 15th day of the Seventh Moon is called Baekjung or Jungwon. Various fruits and vegetables are abundant during this time. Baekjung means serving 100 different things on the table for a memorial service. On the farmland, a ceremonial feast was prepared for the laborers in recognition of their work so they took a day off to enjoy themselves.
Buddhist temples regard it as the second most important holiday after Buddha’s Birthday.
Mixed rice cake (seoktanbyeong) is served on this day.
Chuseok, the autumnal full moon day that falls on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, is probably the most anticipated festive day for modern Koreans. It is also called Hangawi (Harvest Moon Festival) or Jungchujeol, which stands for mid-autumn day. In celebration of the good harvest, Koreans visit their ancestral hometowns and share a feast of Korean traditional food. Family members get together, pay tribute to their ancestors, and visit ancestral graves. Bulcho is the tradition of cutting the weeds around one's ancestral graves during Chuseok. Paying a visit to one's ancestral graves is considered as a duty towards one's ancestors.
On the morning of Chuseok Day, Songpyeon and food prepared with the year’s fresh harvest are arranged to give thanks to ancestors through Charye (ancestor memorial service). The only thing different from the memorial rites held during Seollal and that held in Chuseok, is that during Chuseok people eat rice instead of rice cake soup.
One of the dishes prepared for this day that cannot go unmentioned is songpyeon (rice cake). Inside songpyeon, freshly harvested sesame seeds, beans, redbeans, chestnuts, or Chinese dates are stuffed. Then the songpyeon is steamed over pine needles.
On the night before Chuseok, all the family members sat around and made songpyeon, looking at the full moon. Particularly, single men and women tried their best to make songpyeon as pretty as possible. That was because one was believed to be able to meet a good-looking spouse only if one was able to make good-looking songpyeon.
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), sonori (cow play), geobuknori (turtle play), and ssireum (Korean wrestling) were performed, creating a lively atmosphere.
Our next festival is Jungyangjeol celebrated on the 9th day of the 9th lunar month. It is a day for celebrating autumn with poetry and painting, composing poetry, enjoying nature. People went In groups to the mountains or entered valleys to see the foliage, and enjoyed the day by eating food and drinking wine. On Junggu, people cooked gukhwajeon, (chrysanthemum pancakes)or made wine with mums.
If Samjinnal in spring, heralded the return of the migrant swallows then Jungyangjeol is the time for the migrant sparrows to leave again.
Know what? I just realized something, don’t know whether you observed it or not. In South Korea, pancakes are traditionally eaten on three festival days: Samjinnal (3rd day of 3rd lunar month), Chilseok (7th day of 7th lunar month), and Jungyangjeol (9th day of 9th lunar month).
And now we come to the last festival of the year, Dongji, which is celebrated around 22nd December. Dongji (the winter solstice) is the longest night and shortest day of the year. Meaning "a day that ushers in the following year," Dongji was also called ase or "little New Year's Day." At the homes of commoners, porridge was cooked using red beans. Glutinous rice powder was rolled into small balls to be added to the porridge, which is served with honey. Festive foods for Dongji included red bean porridge, jeonyak (a mixture of herbs, honey, sugar and pepper), sikhye (a sweet dessert made with rice), gyeongdan (rice cake balls), sujeonggwa (a fruit punch) and dongchimi (water kimchi).and redbean soup with rice dumplings (patjuk). Patjuk also goes on the table for the memorial service and is often thrown onto the door as a gesture to drive away misfortunes." On Dongji, each family make patjuk to eat, and this is made by the process of mashing boiled red-beans or sieving them and making pieces of glutinous rice cake with the water the red-beans are boiled in. This rice cake is called 'Saealsim'. The finished patjuk is put in the sanctuary first, and after putting it on some corners of the house, the members of the family gather at a place and get to eat it. Nowadays, Koreans eat a bowl of red bean porridge to ward off evil spirits.
So that’s it for today and if you’re craving for some tteok why don’t you pop down to the main JILSIRU Café at the Tteok Museum in Jongno-gu or its branch in Insadong. Just take a look, aren’t they tempting?
Special thanks and appreciation to the following:
Photos and articles © courtesy:
Korea Agro-Fisheries Trade
Korea Times
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