Seollal or Lunar New Year's Day is the first day of the lunar calendar and is one of the most celebrated traditional Korean holidays along with Chuseok, a major harvest holiday. The Lunar New Year holiday lasts three days during which families and relatives reunite at their hometowns and hold ancestral rites.
The day before Seollal, women prepare food for the ancestral rites. Many dishes such as various vegetables, jeon, or pan-fried delicacies made of meat, fish and vegetables, and steamed chicken are prepared. Since the food is prepared all day there is an expression called "holiday syndrome," referring to headaches, backaches and other physical pains women complain of following the holiday. Nowadays, the idea that men should also help out with holiday preparations is gaining popularity.
On the morning of Seollal, people wear Hanbok, traditional Korean clothing and hold ancestral rites. Following the rites, everyone shares the holiday food together. A dish that all Koreans have on Seollal is Tteokguk, which is made of thinly sliced Tteok or rice cakes.
Following the New Year's meal, the younger generations pay respect to elders by performing a deep traditional bow after which the elders offer words of wisdom and New Year's money. Children especially like Seollal because of the New Year's money. As for Christians who do not perform ancestral rites because of religious reasons, family members gather and share food and stories.
Koreans spend the rest of the holiday relaxing and playing traditional games with family members before returning home.
