Chuseok(August 15th on the lunar calendar), the Korean thanksgiving holidays are finally here with cool weather. A large number of people are leaving Seoul, the capital city of Korea to visit their parents and families in other parts of the country. Some other people are heading for an airport to catch a flight which will take its passengers to vacation spots. Now I am going to describe how most of Koreans spend Chuseok holidays.
1st day of holidays(D-1)
Well, on the first day you usally leave for your(your husband’s) parents’ house as the 1st destination. If they live far away you start your journey early in the evening of the day before. You arrive at your(husband’s) parents’ house on D-1(the day before Chuseok), you help with them making food for holidays. At chuseok, if you go along with traditional rituals, you are supposed to practice “Charyeh(차례)”, one of the Korean traditional ceremonies associated with honoring ancestors. For that purpose, you prepare a range of foods, including many of typical Charyeh dishes. When you are done with your food preparation, you are good to take a rest.
2nd day of holidays(D, Chuseok)
The first thing you do on Chuseok day is to practice Charyeh – you set the table with dishes you’ve prepared and take a bow to pay homage to your ancestors usually early in the morning. Taking a bow could be optional according to your religious beliefs nowadays. After you are done with Charyeh you eat the food with your family members. Since traditionally the eldest son of a family hosts the event, in the morning you hurry to your eldest brother’s(uncle’s) house.