Chuseok (Korean: 추석), originally known as Hangawi (한가위) (from archaic Korean for "great middle"), is a major harvest festival and a three-day holiday in Korea celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar. Like many other harvest festivals, it is held around the Autumn Equinox. As a celebration of the good harvest, Koreans visit their ancestral hometowns and share a feast of Korean traditional food such as songpyeon.
Historically and according to popular belief, Chuseok originates from Gabae. Gabae started during the reign of the third king of the kingdom of Silla (57 BC - AD 935), when it was a month-long weaving contest between two teams. Come the day of Gabae, the team that had woven more cloth had won and was treated to a feast by the losing team. Many scholars also believe Chuseok may originate from ancient shamanistic celebrations of the harvest moon. New harvests are offered to local deities and ancestors, which means Chuseok may have originated as a worship ritual. In some areas, if there is no harvest, worship rituals are postponed, or in areas with no annual harvest, Chuseok is not celebrated
A variety of folk games are played on Chuseok to celebrate the coming of Autumn and rich harvest. Village folk dress themselves to look like a cow or a turtle, and go from house to house along with a Nongak band playing music. Other common folk games played on Chuseok are tug of war, ssireum, archery and gama fighting. Folk games also vary from region to region. Ganggangsullae dance which is forming a circle under a moon is performed by women and children in southwestern coastal regions, and cockfight or bullfighting in the southern regions.
On September 22 2010 16:41 Warrior Madness wrote: Is it a coincidence that the Korean thanks giving is on the same day as Teamliquid's birthday? Prrrooobbably not.
Yes it is. Korean thanksgiving is determined via "Lunar Calender" which is that mini little calender bits under REAL CALENDER which some Korean holidays are celebrated thru such as well as some Koreans b-day... like my parents actually use lunar calender to celebrate their b-day which makes it DIFFERENT every year... brrr....
EPT![[image loading]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8f/Koreanthanksgiving-chuseok.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/60/Korean_rice_cake-Songpyeon-01.jpg)
