Happy Chuseok!!!!

Heather's Kindergarden Class

So here we are 4 weeks into our life in South Korea and we come to a major holiday, Chuseok. This holiday is considered the Korean Thanksgiving. The festival is celebrated on September 20 of every year. As I have seen and read, it seems that this festival is dedicated to the gods and ancestors of these people. Usually the family will gather together at their parents or grandparents house to celebrate together.


Chuseok is also known as “Hangawi,” and it’s translated as “Harvest Moon Festival.”  Chuseok is a three-day holiday in Korea celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar.
As an agrarian society throughout history, Hangawi was the day in which Koreans thanked the ancestors for the year’s harvest and shared their abundance with family and friends.

On the morning of Chuseok Day, Songpyeon (type of Korean rice cake) and food prepared with the year’s fresh harvest are arranged to give thanks to ancestors through Charye (ancestor memorial service). After Charye, families visit their ancestors’ graves and engage in Beolcho, where weeds around the burial grounds are removed. As the night nears, families and friends enjoy the beautiful view of the full harvest moon and play folk games such as Ganggangsullae (Korean circle dance).

Zachary's Kindergarden Class

Our Kids Making Songpyeon