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| "Cha-rae-sang" |
It is "Seol-Nal" - a lunar new year. My family and I used to celebrate it when we were in Korea with all our relatives. On a new year's eve, my family and my uncle's family gathered at my grandparent's house and spend the night. The adults - usually the women of the family and my grandpa, woke up early to prepare the meal for our deceased ancestors through a traditional ritual called "cha-rae."When the food is prepared and is ready for the setting, it was our children's turn to wake up and help the adults set up the table. When the table is ready, we all get dressed in our traditional costumes called "han-bok" and gather in front of the table for "charae." One by one, we all take turns to do "sae-bae"which is translated as bowing down to the ancestors in front of the table. When we are done, it is our turn to eat the meal on the table - so we re-heat everything and gather around the table for "seol-nal."After that, it the most fun part of the new year. A time for "saebae." We not only do sae-bae for our ancestors, but we do it to the adults in the family. Then we get something called "sae-bae-don" which is a monetary gift. However, my parents would often take my "saebaedon" from me and they told me that it is safer to keep it with them because I might lose it. Now that I think about it, I'm not sure if I ever asked my parents what happened to the money I received from my relatives. Although it didn't really feel like seolnal today, I'm thankful for the Korean traditions and this new year of horse. However, I do feel that this holiday is about family gathering… which makes me miss Korea very much.
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