Korean February 12, 2021 설날 Culture & Customs Traditional Costume Sebae Food Folk Games Culture & Customs Known as Seollal, is the first day of the lunar Korean . It is the most important of the traditional Korean holidays. It consists of a period of celebrations, starting on New Year's Day.

The Korean New Year holidays last three days. It’s a public holiday in South ; many businesses are closed during this time and paid leave is given so families can travel.

Seollal usually falls on the second new following the . Like a harvest festival, Seollal recognizes the cycle of seasons. As a celebration of the new year, Seollal allows Korean families to rest after a year’s work, while also preparing themselves for the year to come.

• During the New Year festivities, it is common for adults to wear the colorful traditional costume, the Hanbok. Traditional women's hanbok consists of a blouse shirt or a jacket and chima, a wrap-around skirt, which is usually worn full. Men's hanbok consists of a shirt and baji which means pants in Korea. Sebae Bowing ceremony Ancestors aren’t the only ones Korean families honor during Seollal. Children will often participate in the saebae ritual as well. This involves bowing to the older generation to show respect. In response, a child’s elders will often speak words of blessing. Food

The soup that takes a year to eat… is a traditional Korean food that is customarily eaten for the New Year. The dish is a soup with thinly sliced rice cakes. According to tradition, the Korean New Year is similar to a birthday for , and having Tteokguk is part of the birthday celebration. Once you finish eating your Tteokguk, you are one year older. Games

The rest of the holiday celebration is spent by visiting with family members and playing folk games. Yut-nori is a popular game that involves the use of 4 wooden sticks, tokens, and a simple game board. This strategy game has been a part of Seollal for hundreds of years. Some other common games played during this holiday are (a hacky-sack type game), yeonnaligi (kite-flying), neolttwigi (see-saw) and paengi chigi (top-spinning).