Lunar Korean New Year

 

February 12, 2021 was Korean New Year’s Day. It's called the Lunar New Year because it marks the first new moon of the lunisolar calendars, which are regulated by the cycles of the moon and sun. And use lunisolar calendars traditional to many east Asian countries including China, South Korea, and Vietnam.

It is the 9th New Year’s day I spend in the USA. That day, my kids wore hanbok and perform new year bow to elder family who live in Korea. I took a video of them and sent it to my Korean family.

After that, I cooked many traditional food dishes. Rice-cake soup, Grilled beef ribs, jeon, japchae (stir-fried vegetables and beef with soy sauce).  

Tteok-guk is a soup made from long cylinder-shaped rice cakes cut into coins shaped and boiled neatly. The color of white rice cake and clear soup signifies the first day of hope, and the coin-shaped rice cake signifies a wish to be rich.

My kids performed a new year bow to my husband and I. After that, they got the money and were so happy!

  

Se-bae is New Year's day bow. It means that the children “bow” to their grandparents and parents for New Year's day. They express their respect and hoping for the health of their grandparent and parent. 

It's performed on the morning of New Year's Day, to greet the adults in the family in a traditional Korean way: men's left hand and women's right hand are stacked up, kneeling down and bowing. 

After bowing to the adults of the family like this, the adults of the family gives some money, along with good words. The meaning of this money is to pay for performing new year bow or to use it for snacks, supplies, and toys.

I couldn't spend that day with my Korean friends because COVID-19. So that day was very quiet and normal. 

by Sungyun K.