Jongwoldaeborum, or the 15th day of the first month by the lunar calendar, is one of the folk holidays celebrated by the Korean people along with lunar New Year’s Day and Chusok.
The holiday starts on January 14 by the lunar calendar as the small full moon day and the following day was called the big full moon day.
From olden times, the Korean people held various ritual functions on the holiday reflecting their simple desire for a good fortune and rich harvest in the New Year.
On the small full moon day, ears of rice, sorghum, millet and foxtail millet were hung on the stack poles with banners inscribed with letters praying for good harvest below them. Then, children sang and danced going round the poles. And there was a custom of applying manure to the fields early that morning.
On the evening of Jongwoldaeborum, all villagers climbed a high mountain or hill in their village and enjoyed the sight of the rising moon, which was called welcoming the first full moon.
People believed that luck was given to those who saw the rising moon first, and they predicted the success or failure of the year’s farming by the shape of the full moon.
Various folk games were played on the holiday.
Typical of them are kite-flying, pinwheel-spinning and tug-of-war.
The Koreans made traditional dishes on the holiday and shared them with each other.
Typical dishes of Jongwoldaeborum are ogokpap (boiled rice mixed with four other cereals) and nine kinds of dried herbs.
The custom of eating ogokpap and nine herbs is associated with the Korean people’s love for their native land as they have created their own eating habits and developed their food culture with various ingredients abundant in their own localities.
It also reflects the idea of the healthcare principle that health is ensured by a balanced diet of five cereals and various kinds of edible herbs.
Thanks to the policy of the Workers’ Party of Korea on protecting national heritage, Jongwoldaeborum and the custom of welcoming the full moon were registered as national intangible cultural heritage elements and the folk holiday full of noble national sentiments is still becoming a part of the Korean people’s life.
This year’s Jongwoldaeborum falls on February 12.
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