Did you know there are many Korean holidays besides the typically known ones such as Seollal, Buddha's Birthday, Chuseok, Foundation Day, Liberation Day, etc.? Pyeongtaek Insight is here to briefly introduce a couple of Korea's seasonal days (not designated as public holidays)!
Baekro, White Dew(백로) – Is known as one of the twenty-four solar terms occurring between Cheoseo (End of Heat) and Chubun (Autumn Equinox). Its date falls approximately on September 9th according to the Gregorian calendar and around the 8th month of the Lunar calendar.
'Baekro' or 'White Dew' derives from the alternation of temperatures at this time of year from hot to cool, causing dew to drop and form on tree leaves and grass overnight. In the ancient Chinese calendar, the period between Baekro and the autumn equinox was divided into three five-day periods. The first period was described as when wild geese returned home, the second when swallows began their southward journey, and the third when birds gathered food for winter.
Baekro occurs after the rainy season when the skies have cleared. Occasional typhoons and high tidal waves arise at this time, which can damage crops. People in South Jeolla Province consider it a bad omen if the first frost is seen before Baekro and believe that for yearly rice farming to be successful, the grain must finish ripening before Baekro.
Frigid winds and significant temperature drops usually follow the year's first frost; rice plants that start bearing grain late often do not mature fully, which eventually translates into poorer crop yields. However, as the weather around Baekro can significantly affect the harvest, farming households carefully observe weather changes during this period.
Chilseok, Seventh Evening (칠석) - Chilseok is a Korean traditional festival that falls on the seventh day of the seventh month of the Korean lunar calendar, originating from the Chinese Qixi Festival. It is a period when the summer heat starts to dwindle, and the wet monsoon season begins.
According to a traditional Korean folk tale, every year on this day, an ox herder by the name of Gyeonu meets his lover Jingnyeo, a weaving maid. The two characters are thought to have lived on opposite sides of the heavenly kingdom ruled by the Jade Emperor. The emperor cherished the young herder's sincerity and diligence and married him off to his granddaughter. However, the new couple fell so deeply in love that they gradually came to ignore their duties of ox-herding and weaving. Their negligence brought chaos to the celestial world, driving its people into misfortune and famine.
The Jade Emperor grew furious at what was unfolding before his eyes and separated the two lovers with the Milky Way between them. Their tragic story deeply moved the crows and magpies, and this led the birds to gather on the seventh of the seventh lunar month. They formed a bridge across the Milky Way so the couple could be briefly reunited.
Around the time of Chilseok, it tends to rain, and when it rains the day before Chilseok, it is said to be the tears of joy shed by the reunited lovers. If it rains the day after Chilseok, it is thought to be the tears of sorrow shed when the lovers must separate again.
In the past, a variety of events were used to celebrate Chilseok. According to the 'Dongguk Sesigi' (A Record of Seasonal Customs in Korea, 1849), young students had to write poems about the story of Gyeonu and Jingnyeo. There were also customs called pogui (폭의, clothes drying) and pokseo (폭서, book drying), where clothes and books were taken out of wardrobes and shelves and dried in the sun to prevent them from growing mold after the rainy season.
As pumpkins, cucumbers, and melons start to flourish during this period, people traditionally offered fried pumpkins to the Big Dipper. The objects of worship and the details of the offering ritual conducted on Chilseok differed according to family and region. A unique gathering known as Chilseok Nori (Kor. 칠석놀이, Seventh Evening Play) continued until late at night and involved singing, dancing, and drinking.
*Reference Citation: National Folk Museum of Korea, Encyclopedia of Korean Folk Culture.
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