Chuseok is major harvest festival and three day holiday in Korea. It was originally called Hangawi and is celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar. Chuseok is a celebration of the good harvest. Koreans will visit their ancestral hometowns and have a feast of traditional food. Very much like our Thanksgiving, minus the Mayflower and pilgrims. Koreans travel to their hometowns to pay respects to the spirits of their ancestors. People perform ancestral worship rituals early in the morning and then visit the tombs of their immediate ancestors to tidy up around the tombs.
What does Chuseok mean to me (and many other families waiting to adopt from Korea)? It basically means that nothing will be happening this week. Since Chuseok is a three day holiday celebrated in the middle of the week, many Koreans will also take off work Monday and Friday. So there is not much "movement" on the adoption home front during this week of celebration. That's fine. Just as long as they get busy when they get back! =)
Since I plan on incorporating as many Korean traditions into our lives as possible when our new addition arrives I thought I would start practicing now. So, tomorrow we are going to have bulgogi for dinner to celebrate Chuseok. Bulgogi is a very popular Korean dish that is basically Korean barbecue. Americans love it and the recipe is super easy so I thought I might as well see if I can screw it up. I plan on taking some pictures as I go along and hopefully I can give a good report tomorrow. We shall see.
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