Chuseok

Chuseok
Songpyeon, a type of tteok to celebrate Chuseok.
Official nameChuseok (추석; 秋夕)
Also calledHangawi, Jungchujeol
Observed byKoreans
TypeCultural, religious (Buddhist, Confucian, Muist)
SignificanceCelebrates the harvest
ObservancesVisit to their family's home town, ancestor worship, harvest feasts with songpyeon and rice wines
Begins14th day of the 8th lunar month
Ends16th day of the 8th lunar month
Date15th day of the 8th lunar month
2023 date28 September –
30 September
2024 date16 September –
18 September
2025 date5 October –
7 October
2026 date24 September –
26 September
FrequencyAnnual
Related toMid-Autumn Festival (in China)
Tsukimi (in Japan)
Tết Trung Thu (in Vietnam)
Uposatha of Ashvini/Krittika (similar festivals that generally occur on the same day in Cambodia, India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Laos, and Thailand )
Korean name
Hangul
추석
Hanja
秋夕
Revised Romanizationchuseok
McCune–Reischauerch'usŏk
IPA[tɕʰusʌk̚]
Original Korean name
Hangul
한가위
Revised Romanizationhangawi
McCune–Reischauerhan'gawi
IPA[hɐnɡɐɥi]

Chuseok (Korean추석; [tɕʰu.sʌk̚], lit.'autumn evening'), also known as Hangawi (한가위; [han.ɡa.ɥi]; from Old Korean, "the great middle [of autumn]"), is a major mid-autumn harvest festival and a three-day holiday in South Korea celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunisolar calendar on the full moon. In North Korea, they only celebrate for the day of chuseok.[1] Like many other harvest festivals around the world, it is held around the autumn equinox, i.e. at the very end of summer or in early autumn. It is the biggest traditional holiday in South Korea.

Hanbok
Songpyeon

As a celebration of the good harvest, Koreans visit their ancestral hometowns and share a feast of Korean traditional food such as songpyeon, yakgwa, fruits like Asian pear and hallabong, and rice wines such as sindoju (신도주; 新稻酒). and dongdongju. There are two major traditions related to Chuseok: Charye (차례; 茶禮, ancestor memorial services at home, also known as Jesa), and Seongmyo (성묘; 省墓, family visit to the ancestral graves), which is usually accompanied by Beolcho (벌초; 伐草, tidying graves, removing weeds around them).[2] Another major custom is to prepare the family's ancestors their favorite meals as an offering.

  1. ^ Passport to Korean Culture By Published by Korean Culture and Information Service Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism
  2. ^ "Chuseok (A Korean Thanksgiving)". chuseok.org. April 2021.