Chusok as the Korean Thanksgiving

Chusok as the Korean Thanksgiving
Chu'sok means "fall evening" and is celebrated every 24th of September, which is the 15th day of the eighth lunar moon. This serves as Korea's Harvest Moon festival and at the same time the Thanksgiving for the country. The holiday is said to have originated during the time of the Shilla Kingdom, when the king held a festival of games, entertainment, food, and drinks. Today, it is one of the most important festivals for the Koreans, which is observed by both farmers and the city dwellers. The occassion is the day in the year when family members come together to share lots of special foods. They commemorate their ancestors by visiting the graves and pay respect. Children enjoy playing different games like see-saw, swinging, and other type of dances like Kang-gangsulle. The men played sirum, which a Korean wrestling. They also held races that has animals as a price. And of course, Thanksgiving will not be complete without the special dishes on the table. They serve Songpyon, which is a full-moon rice cakes stuffed with sesame, beans,chestnuts, or Chinese dates. They also have Khaegangjong, YakGwa, and yultanja (made of rice flour, chestnuts and honey) to share together. In general,Korean Thanksgiving is not very different from ours. They still observe the very essence of the occasion, which is about the importance of family.

CKAN will celebrate Thanksgiving together on Sat. Oct. 6, at a Cook and Gather session. Contact us for more information. All welcome!