Holidays are something everyone loves, and people usually spend their holidays with the ones that they care about. There are many kinds of holidays celebrated in this world, including Halloween, Christmas, Eid, Children’s Day, and many more. In this blog, we are going to talk about two lovely holidays on this beautiful Earth that both happen to be just around the corner: Thanksgiving and Chuseok.
People in the USA usually celebrate Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday in November, but the day varies in other countries; for example, in Canada, people celebrate Thanksgiving on the second Monday of October. In Korea, for celebrating the harvest season, they have Chuseok. People tend to celebrate it on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar on the full moon.
What do people do during the harvest holiday? Many who celebrate go back to their hometown to eat a lot of food that is traditionally only eaten during this holiday – a seasonal dish, per se. For Thanksgiving, people usually have turkey, stuffing, gravy, sweet potatoes, cornbread, mashed potatoes, casseroles, ham, and cranberry sauce – and so much more!. For dessert, it is traditional to include any kind of pie, but there are some famous flavors, such as pecan, pumpkin, and apple pie. Meanwhile, on Chuseok, they cook 송편 [Songpyeon] – Korean Rice Cakes with Honey – which are made of glutinous rice. Songpyeon is half-moon-shaped rice cakes that contain sweet ingredients, such as honey, chestnut paste, or red bean paste, inside. These days people make it with different shapes, but the original one is half-moon-shaped.
전 [Jeon] – Traditional Korean-style Pancake – is a fritter made by seasoning whole, sliced, or minced fish, meat, vegetables, etc., and coating them with wheat flour and egg wash before frying them in oil. You can put anything you like in it, such as fish, meat, seafood, or even vegetables. It also can be served as a main dish, side dish, or even as an appetizer or a snack.
잡채 [Japchae] – Stir-fried glass noodles with various vegetables – is a dish consisting of savory stir-fried glass noodles with meat and various vegetables, such as carrots, mushrooms, and onions, seasoned with soy sauce and sesame oil. Japchae is a traditional Korean food that is served on special occasions, such as weddings, birthdays, and holidays.
Thanksgiving is a positive and secular holiday where everyone celebrates gratitude in the spirit and celebration of the fall harvest. Thanksgiving is a perfect moment for everyone to sit in the house to talk and share joy and gratitude for everything that they have. People usually spend the time eating food and playing games together.
During Chuseok, people might wear Korean traditional outfits, 한복 [Hanbok]. It is a perfect time for families to gather together to give thanks to their ancestors for an abundant autumn harvest. People usually celebrate Chuseok for 3 days straight, and it causes some places to be closed during the event.
There are two common activities during Chuseok: Charye (차례) – Ancestral Worship Rituals – and Beolcho (벌초). Charye usually takes place on the morning of the first day of Chuseok. It is when family members gather in their homes for memorial services to honor their ancestors. The food that they make for these occasions is fresh harvested rice, songpyeon, and also alcohol. The family will bow to the ancestors to give honor to them and then finish by enjoying the food together.
Another tradition for celebrating Chuseok is Beolcho, people going to visit their ancestral graves to tidy up the weeds that have been grown around the gravesites. Families usually do it as a sign of devotion to their ancestors.
People give gifts to each other, as well, during Chuseok. There are plenty of ideas and gifts that supermarkets sell – ready-made gift sets for Chuseok events, like apples, expensive beef, or a set of traditional Korean snacks. An interesting fact is that the most popular item in Korea to be given as a gift for Chuseok is often spam.
Bangtan also made a Bangtan Bomb for celebrating Chuseok in 2019. In this video, each member makes their own full moon and passes it to the others. It starts from the small moon by Jungkook to the biggest one by RM.
The recent one they made was from 2020. Each of them made a wish, starting from J-Hope. He wished for good health for everyone in the world and to be able to meet ARMYs very soon. Then Jimin wished for the members of the group to always stay healthy and be happy. RM wished for health and peace for the family, friends, and relatives of the members, and everyone in the world. Jungkook hoped that every wish of the members could come true. Jin also wished for everyone, the family, and lovely ARMYs to be happy in their life. V wished for everyone including aliens to be happy. Last but not least, Suga hoped that Covid-19 would come to an end soon so they could go on tour to meet ARMY.
Whether or not you celebrate either Thanksgiving or Chuseok, both are amazing moments to be spent together with your family and people that you love. You can enjoy the day by simply cooking and eating the food together, or do some activities to grow the bond between each other. Or, perhaps, the best moments between loved ones are the quiet ones, existing together in gratitude while wishing for better days to come.
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Written By: Endang
Edited By: Aury
Checked By: Vera
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