have you heard of Seollal Holidays? hmm Im familiar with Chuseok [추석] holidays but not Seollal [설날]. Not until today..
This morning, I contact my friend... wanted him to deliver a few stuff from Korea to me.. and he said...
"Sorry mate, no business today.. no can do today...well not until 5th feb" [나 죄송합니다. 난 못해.2월 5일까지]
I asked him..
"왜?" {why?}
He answered..
"설날 왔어" [It's New Years holidays]..
"설날?"..
"Lunar New years holiday mate!"..
I thought he was kidding.. Since Chuseok is still far away..I got confused between Harvest festival (Chuseok) & Lunar New year..
"아이고 이자식..난 바보 아니야!" [aigoo iJashik!.. nan pabo aniya!] (You should know this already if you've follow this blog so im not gonna explain the meaning)..
"넌 진짜 바보야!".. [neon jinjja paboya!]
So he told me to googled and read about Seollal.. haha okay I admit 난 진짜 바보야!.. I though he meant new years was chuseok..
So what is Seollal Holidays? [2nd - 4th Feb 2011 this year btw]
There are two most important holidays in Korea. Seollal and Chuseok. Seollal(설날) is the New Year’s Day and Chuseok(추석) .
Although Chuseok is usually considered as the biggest holiday, Seollal is second to none in its importance: In both holidays, many people visit their parents, despite the distance. In Seollal, people have ‘get-together’ in a quite big family units. They meet many relatives, uncles, aunts, cousins and so on: exchange gifts, talk together, play games…
A week before Seollal may be the start of people getting busy buying foods, presents, and other necessary things needed in celebrating the new start of the Lunar year. This is when all stores, markets and other shops start to get busy.
Here are pics from Lotte Mart in Jamsil. The first floor, where it sells foods, daily necessaries, etc, was full of people shopping for all kinds of things.
"설날 선물 세트" = Seollal Set of Gift선물 = Gift
Shop assistants are wearing Hanbok. Unique huh!
The most significant point in Korea’s holidays like Seollal or Chuseok is that, you can see present sets. Usually fruits, tolietries(shampoo set, toothbrush, toothpaste, lotion, soup…)…the kinds vary.
For people who are staying in Seoul, or who do not go far away from their homes, do not worry. All public transportations are available all the time, so you can go to many areas around: Since Seoul will be ‘emptier’ than before, no need to worry for traffic jams within here.
But expect traffic jam before Seollal, as many people will be going back to meet their family.. : )Tribal Migration
Those new to Korea will no doubt be awed - or horrified - by the traffic conditions that develop as the holiday starts with a major exodus from Korea's major cities. Millions of Koreans hit the roads for their ancestral hometowns in a phenomenon dubbed by the local press as a "tribal migration." This can create some hellacious traffic on outbound lanes at the start of the holiday and inbound lanes at the end.
Meaning of 'Seol'
There are three theories as to what 'Seol' means. The first suggests that the word comes from the Korean word natseolda, or "unfamiliar." After all, the Seol falls on the first day of the new or "unfamiliar" year. Another theory holds that it comes from seonda, or "beginning." How this might tie in to the New Year should be pretty obvious. Finally, there are those that say "Seol" comes from seolbda, an obsolete Korean term meaning "to be careful." Here, the message would be that while you adjust to the new year, you should be careful in your speech and in your actions.
On the very day of Seollal, family will prepare for ancestral rites early in the morning. They cook and prepare traditional dishes for the ritual. They open the door and windows so that the spirits of the ancestors passed away to come inside the house. (It’s considered as the ‘comity’ toward the ancestors.)Traditionally only men, or male head of the family are allowed bowing to the ancestors. But the way of practicing the rites may differ by regions; each has their own custom. In Korean, we call this ancestral rites as ‘Charye(차례)’.
the memorial service ‘table’ 
After the ritual, the whole family gather around and eat breakfast. One of the dishes they eat DDeokguk(떡국),a Korean word meaning rice cake soup. Koreans have an interesting old saying(could be a joke), that ‘You grow a year older if you eat a bowl of rice cake soup.’
So many people ‘competed’…with one another to eat more DDeokguk.
After eating DDeokguk, young children(but typically anyone who is not yet an adult ;) bow to the elders, a greeting for the New Year. This is called as Sebae(세배). Children, sometimes dressed in Hanbok(Korea’s traditional attire) say out loud this saying: “새해 복 많이 받으세요,” which means “I wish you a happy new year” in Korean.
After the bow, the elders give their young relatives some money- and this is the main reason why the adults want to avoid the moment, and the children become wild at the moment. Young kids tend to ‘carefully’ put their money in this kind of pouch.
In the evening, relatives gathered around and did Yut-no-re(윷놀이)
adults bet some money on other game called ‘hwatu(gostop),’
although this was originatd from Japan, itself became one of the highlights games in Seollal, and it can never be absent among Koreans culture..if you've seen lots of korean drama, i bet you are familiar with this.. tho I dont know how to play it :)
For foreigners living in Korea, Seol can be a lonely time when the pangs of cultural isolation strike strong. Of course, this is not the case for all foreigners - many are married to Koreans, after all, and are able to enjoy the holidays with their in-laws. Much of Korea shuts down during the extended holiday, so you will find fewer restaurants and shops open, especially on the morning of Seol. That being said, a number of locations around Seoul - the royal palaces, Jongmyo, Namsan Hanok Village and Seoul Museum of History, for starters - have special events prepared during the Lunar New Year holiday to share with foreigners Korea's holiday traditions - see the Events section for more details. Amusement parks often hold special events and promotions during the holiday as well. The extended holiday also provides an excellent time to travel around and discover Korea, but with one caveat - you need to book train or plane tickets early. Train and plane tickets to most destinations around Korea are usually sold out during the holiday, and the last thing you want is to experience Korea's holiday traffic, when a trip to Busan can take up to 15 hours.
Happy Seollal 여러분!! ^^새해 복 많이 받으세요
footnote/notakaki: Owh did you know there is a Lotte Mart in Malaysia!!! will blog about it next time : )
