Great Full Moon

    What comes up in your mind when you hear the word moon? How about werewolf? The goddess of moon? Sailor moon? That’s what I thought until I knew about “Great Full Moon” in Korea. In Korea, they celebrate the first full moon of the New Year of the lunar calendar – the 15th day of the first month of the lunar New Year. In Korean history, people burn the dry grass on ridges between rice fields the night before daeboreum (“Great Full Moon”) by playing traditional game, geuybulnori (whirling around cans which carry charcoal fire). This make the field fertilized and get rid of harmful worms.

     Also, there is a custom of eating nuts, Ogokbap (five grain rice consists of rice, millet, Indian millet, beans, and red beans), Yaksik (made of glutinous rice, chestnuts, pine nuts, honey, sauce, and sesame oil), and drinking 'Ear-quickening wine.’ In the countryside, there is a custom of climbing mountains, to catch the first rise of the moon. It is said that the first person to see the moon rise will have good luck or a wish will be granted.
 
     During the festival, they do the big campfire and play traditional games like ‘지신밟기, 사자놀이, 쥐불놀이, 윷놀이.’

<Campfire>

      Sounds fun huh? I’m looking forward to go to the Full Moon festival on the 15^th.

Reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Korea-Daeboreumnal-Full_Moon_Festival-09.jpg