National Korean Customs of December.

In this month there are two divisions of the year which are Taesol and Tongji.

The first means the fall of a lot of snow and this year it falls on December 7 according to the solar calendar.

For a long time the proverb stated: If a lot of snow falls in Taesol, there will be an abundant harvest in the following year and the winter of that year will not be cold.

Tongji means the arrival of winter and this year it falls on December 21 according to the solar calendar.

On this day, the Sun rises later and sets earlier so the day is shorter and the night, longer.

During this season, our ancestors took care to preserve the collected grains well, manure the fields of wheat and barley already sown and repair the agricultural tools for the following year’s cultivation.

On the occasion of both events they preferred to eat Phatjuk (rice porridge with red beans), noodle in cold broth, salted radish kimchi, sujonggwa (a kind of drink). Especially it was famous Phatjuk that they ate on Tongji day. This day they prepared the gacha with rice and red beans and shared it among the neighbors to promote harmony. This was a custom that had been inherited among Koreans since ancient times.

This season the children had fun playing the wheel and ball.