December has two seasonal sub-divisions— taesol and tongji .
Taesol implies the heaviest snowfall period throughout the year. Since olden times it has been said that heavy snowfall on this day is a harbinger of next year’s good harvest and mild winter.
Tongji refers to the arrival of winter. On this day the sun rises later and sets earlier than any other days of the year. In other words, the daytime is the shortest and the night-time is the longest.
This year taesol and tongji fall on the 7th and 21st respectively.
In this season, rural communities are engaged in storing the gathered grains safely, manuring the seeded wheat and barley fields and repairing tools for the next year’s farming.
The favourite dishes are red bean porridge, cold noodles, radish kimchi, fruit punch, etc. The most famous is red bean porridge for tongji .
According to old records, Koreans called tongji a “small New Year’s Day.” So they had the red bean porridge in this season. The dish was made by kneading glutinous Indian millet or glutinous rice powder in hot water into dumplings as small as a bird’s egg before being put into the porridge and mixed with honey.
As a long-standing custom, the Korean people shared the porridge with neighbours on tongji to promote mutual harmony.
In this season, children play a shuttlecock game, soccer and other folk games.
Kim Hyok
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