Chris and I rang in the new year with a couple of close friends. We played games and had snacks at our apartment. I was so excited to use so many of my new entertaining dishes, and a few of my old favs. At midnight we toasted with champagne. The only problem: The Armed Forces Network's countdown was not in our time zone. So Chris searched youtube for a new year's countdown. We counted down the new year with a video from 1999 haha...so we were toasting to a happy 2000!! It made for a great memory!! I even banged a pan out the window...too bad I was the only one. What do Korean's do for New Years? That is a popular question. Here is some information I found on the subject:
There are actually two Korean New Years. This is because Koreans go by two calenders; one being the same people use in the West, and the other being the lunar calender.
The Korean New Years based on the Western calender is similar to our New Years in the United States. It is a big national holiday in Korea as well, and occurs on January 1st just like it does here. During this holiday, many relatives get together to share tim
e together and talk. In Korea, there are some old traditions that some people will still follow. One is to visit the oldest member of the family and bow toward them to show respect and to wish them a long life (this would occur on New Years Eve). The following day on January 1st people will pay respect to ancestors by offering food and wine. This ceremony is called Jaesa. At the beginning of the ceremony, the names of the ancestors are pinned to a board. The oldest family members bows and offers the wine to the ancestors who have passed away. Then, the names are burned. Later in the day, relatives talk about old times and eat food. The traditional food usually eaten on New Years Day is Duk Gook, a type of soup. Kimchi is always present.
[Source: www.englishvisitseoul.blogspot.com]
Where ever you celebrated the new year, I hope it was fun! I wish all of my loyal blog readers a happy and healthy 2011! Let's see where this year takes us next!
Mavie Anne
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