All views and information presented herein are my own and do not represent the views of the Fulbright Program or the U.S. Department of State.
Holidays give us a chance to learn about a culture. Many cultures celebrate Thanksgiving. They give thanks for their families and for a plentiful harvest. A few examples of these celebrations are the Mid-Autumn Festival in China, the Vendimia in Argentina, Sukkot for the Jewish people, Kinrō kansha no hi in Japan, New Yam Festival in Nigeria, Akhatrij in parts of India and Oseniny in Russia.
In the United States and Canada, Thanksgiving is a chance to get together with our family members and celebrate with a “feast” of turkey, yams, cranberry sauce, pies and other delicious foods that come from our land.
In Korea, people also celebrate Thanksgiving or Chuseok. It is the most important holiday besides the New Year. Chuseok is a time when families get together to celebrate the harvest, the love of family and the respect and honor for their ancestors.
During the weeks leading to Chuseok, people spend time at the stores buying special foods to prepare and gifts to bring to their family homes, friends and business colleagues. The streets and stores have a feel that is a mixture of Thanksgiving and Christmas. There is definitely a mood of celebration, preparation and excitement in the air.
As one of my passions is food, Chuseok gave me a chance to learn about the different gifts of food that Koreans share with each other. It has been a unique experience to see the beauty of the produce, the packaging and the variety of foods that you do not see in the United States. Shiny boxes with Korean pears and huge round apples, mushrooms of all kinds, root vegetables that I did not know existed, different kinds of seaweed in exquisite boxes, special meats put in boxes wrapped in colorful cloths.
Chuseok is held when there is a full moon, according to the lunar calendar. The women prepare many special dishes to offer them to their ancestors in a ceremony called charye. This ceremony takes place in the morning and is led by the elder son who honors his father, grandfather and great-grandfather. Food and drinks are set out on a special table for the ancestors to eat and drink. There is also another small table that has foods for the well-being of the home. After the ceremony, the family gathers to eat at a long table that is covered with small dishes of the most delicate and delicious food. There is fish, meat, spinach, mushrooms, noodles or japchae, kimchi, a kind of pancake or jeon with vegetables and a very delicate beef soup. One of the traditional Thanksgiving foods is a kind of rice cake called songpyeon. It is filled with the tastiest sesame sesame seeds, chestnuts, red beans, or other similar ingredients and the dough is white, red, green or purple. Dessert includes juicy and delectable Korean pears, sweet apples and tiny purple grapes.
I have been incredibly fortunate and honored to be part of this very special family celebration. My “Korean family” invited me to join them not only for the meal but also for the ceremony. According to my friend’s father, who led the ceremony in honor of his ancestors, their family has a modified and modernized ceremony. It was powerful to see three generations together truly honoring their past and looking to their future. I am grateful for having had the chance to experience this tradition and for this generous family who have opened their home to me. They make this journey memorable in so many different ways. Happy Chuseok!