As previously promised, I
present to you all that is Chuseok. Chuseok can be referred to as
the ‘Korean Thanksgiving’ and is celebrated on the brightest full
moon of the year which occurs on the 15th day of the 8th month on the
lunar calendar. Contrary to Western society, Koreans still use the
lunar calendar for important dates, leading to a number of holidays
centered around the moon and its cycle. For 2012, the day of Chuseok
falls on September 30th. Chuseok
is essentially a
celebration of a good harvest, as it’s the time of year that grains
and fruits will be at their ripest and freshest. To celebrate a year
of successful farming, families will migrate to their ancestral
hometowns and 본 가역 (directly
translated to ‘main house’, usually the home of the eldest
head of the household) where they will dress up in traditional
clothing, cook an abundance of food, and pay their respects to their
ancestors.
As
I've come to notice, respect for the elderly is of high importance
for Koreans. Chuseok isn't simply a feast celebration, as there
are three major duties that must be completed:
-Weeds
that have grown around the graves of family members all summer long
must be picked and discarded. This is an especially important task
for families because Koreans place a great deal of emphasis on saving
face before the public. Graves with weeds still growing around them
after the Chuseok holiday will make others assume that they have
undutiful children, and it's considered an embarrassment to the family
name.
-Respect
must be paid to the grave, often in the form of deeply bowing before
it and offering grain alcohol, fruits, and meat.
-An
elaborate table setting of food offered to the ancestors. There are
several meticulous steps in setting things properly - like lighting
candles before the alcohol is poured into three different cups and
bowing twice afterwards. Each dish also has a specific area of the
table as per this educational diagram...
So I've received an offer
from a Korean co-teacher to spend Chuseok, the country's largest and
most important holiday, with his sister, him, and their grandparents
in an isolated countryside village from which his grandparents and
great grandparents hail. My slight apprehension to this invitation
is that I haven't worked with him for a very long time as he began at
Worwick Franklin weeks after I did. And it's not that I don't trust
him, it's just a lot of pressure to be one of the few, perhaps only,
foreigner ever seen by the people of this village, and definitely by
his grandparents. Not to mention they will be taking me in for the
holiday, feeding me, entertaining me, and allowing me to sleep there.
But how can one pass up such an incredible opportunity?! So off I
go in hopes that I will not disgrace but honor my family's name and
display the utmost of southern hospitality when Luling and
Gangjeong-ri collide for Chuseok 2012.