Season | Autumn | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Period | 21 September 2021 (solar calendar) or 15 August (lunar calendar) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Introduction | "Chuseok" (秋夕), which means "the Full Moon Day in the eighth month" or "the middle of August" of the lunar calendar, is the most important holiday of the year. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Chuseok (秋夕), Full Moon Day / Korean Thanksgiving Day
"Chuseok" (秋夕), which means "the Full Moon Day in the eighth month" or "the middle of August" of the lunar calendar, is the most important holiday of the year. Its other names include "Gabae" (嘉俳), "Gabaeil" (嘉俳日), "Gawi," "Hangawi," "Jungchu" (仲秋), "Jungchujeol" (仲秋節), and "Jungchugajeol" (仲秋佳節). Of these, "Hangawi" originated from the "Gabae" event of the Silla dynasty, and "Jungchujeol" from the word "Jungchu," meaning "the eighth month."
There is a record on "Gabae" in the "Ninth Year under Yuri Isageum" (儒理尼師今) section of the ancient work of history titled Samguk sagi (The History of the Three Kingdoms):
The rituals performed on "Chuseok" included "Olbesimni" and "Putbasim." "Olbesimni" refers to the "Olbyeo Cheonsin" (薦新) performed in the Jeolla region, while it is known as "Putbasim" in the Gyeongsang region. The ritual included offerings of the first-harvested grain to the local gods, prayers for a good harvest and re-celebrations among farmers and families.
Like the proverb, "We don’t want to get better or worse than Hangawi," Korean Thanksgiving Day is the season of abundance. More than any other holiday, "Chuseok" entailed various folk customs and activities which took place all over the country. There were customs like "Banbogi" and "Geunchin," while community events like "Ganggangsuwollae," "Juldarigi" (tug-of-war), "Gamassaum," "Sonori," "Geobuknori" and many more took place.
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