Happy New Year!!

"Wait a minute- isn't that a little late? After all, it's been 2006 for almost a month now!" According to the Solar calendar, you would be right. But today is Lunar New Year. And while for all practical purposes Koreans follow the solar calendar, the traditional holidays of the lunar calendar are still important here. "Sol-al" is one of the two most important holidays of the year. It's a family holiday- most people travel to their hometowns to celebrate with their parents and siblings and nieces and nephews. The celebration involves lots of food and playing games, just like what you'd expect over the holidays in the states. But there are some aspects that are very uniquely Korean. First, the food. The traditional dish to eat today is "dok-guk," or rice cake soup. Sue was a dear and made us some yesterday, so we could have some of the "Sol-al" experience. It's quite bland, but still tasty. Secondly, the games. Many people play "Yunnori" (explained below), and another popular game is "Go-Stop", which is played with a special deck of cards. Perhaps the most "foreign" tradition is the one the children like the most. Children, up through high school, will bow to their grandparents, their uncles and aunts, and their parents, and receive money from them. Usually the younger children will dress in "Hanbok" to do this. Other family members may also dress up in "Hanbok" for the day, but that seems to be less and less common. So, that is what I know of Lunar New Year in Korea. Us "Way-gukans" are taking it pretty easy since we knew the traffic would be horrendous this weekend and our Korean friends are all quite busy with family things. But we did eat "dok-guk," and we even bought a "Yunnori" set to play sometime this weekend. :)