[Journal]Seollal, Korea’s Luna New year(2)

The way to my grandmother’s house usually took more than 10 hours. Although there were so many cars, we only spent about 4 hours on the road.

One  regional characteristic of Korea is 東高西低(동고서저). In other words, the east region has high elevation due to concentrated mountain ranges, and the west region has low elevation due to hige plains around.

Since my grandmother’s house was located on the east side, I could see many mountains, covered in snow.

###

 

On the very day of Seollal, we prepare for ancestral rites early in the morning. We cook and prepare traditional dishes for the ritual. We 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)’.

My grandmother is a Christian, so she does not prepare for Charye. In order to take a picture of the memorial service ‘table’ I had to visit my relative’s house nearby.