Cozy New Year Holiday of North Koreans

Time after the People's Democratic Republic of Korea was established, this country did not celebrate the Lunar New Year, because of the notion that it was a relic of the feudal regime. Therefore, North Koreans only take a break on New Year's Day. Since 1989, the North Korean people started to welcome the traditional New Year again, all North Korean customs and culture have been restored to the same tradition. The traditional New Year Holiday in North Korea is also known as Seol, which is held within 2-3 days. The traditional New Year celebrations in North Korea are like other Asian countries, that is, to pay homage to the leader, the family gets together during New Year's Eve.  

During New Year Holiday, North Korean women wear traditional clothes

On New Year's Eve, North Koreans together clean their houses, hang pictures, hang parallel sentences, make new clothes and make food. North Koreans have the custom of hanging a basket made of straw in front of their house, in the sense of banishing the bad luck of the old year and welcoming the new year with many good things.

The unique customs of North Koreans during New Year Hoiday

How do North Koreans welcome the New Year? On the first day of the new year, North Koreans wear traditional clothing also known as Solbin, decorated with five vivid colors and gather with the oldest man in the family to perform the ritual of offering food to thank their ancestor.

Since the country is still poor, not all families in North Korea can afford celebrate the traditional new year. Many families with economic difficulties have to take advantage of the new year to eat a full meal and get the warmth from the provided food.

Many special activities are held on the occasion of the new year

 

 

The New Year ritual in North Korea

What is special about the traditional New Year's customs in North Korea? On the first days of the new year, students will go to the teacher's house to perform a sebae ceremony and send greetings for the family with a bottle of wine in a bag. If you have a chance to travel to North Korea in the new year, you will see the image of men with a red face while drinking. This ritual dates back to the 90s, since the period when the country was still poor, the North Korean government gave each family a few slices of meat, cooking oil, wine bottles and candies to celebrate the New Year. Each bottle of wine is enough to fill 10 glasses, so a man can come to send new year greetings to 10 family. Even in the most difficult times, North Koreans still keep a bottle of wine to celebrate new year holiday.

People come to relatives' houses together during New Year Holiday.

The North Korean New Year celebration is, people all together go to Kim Il-sung Square to offer flowers to the deceased leaders. After that, the people mingle with the lively music and dance. On the first days of the new year, couples will not date so no one will gossip about them. Usually when they date they will go separately, not in groups and very few couples go to the monument area. On this day, the single boys will choose for themselves beautiful girls to date.

People offer flowers and sing and dance at the Square

Although the North Korean New Year happen in a short period of time, everyone has moments of fun and family gatherings in the early spring days.

What North Koreans eat on traditional New Year

North Koreans enjoy Ttok-kuk on New Year's Day, a traditional dish made with rice, green beans and rice cakes. This dish means that people become one year older, they say goodbye to the old year and look forward to the good things in the new year.

Traditional North Korean food in New Year Holiday

If Vietnamese eat banh chung and banh tet, North Koreans eat a rice cake called songpyeon. This rice cake has a semi-circle shape and is decorated with many attractive colors.

The special medicinal rice dish of the North Korean people in New Year Holiday

 

In addition, medicinal rice is also a traditional new year dish in North Korea. This dish is cooked from steamed glutinous rice and mixed well with apples, chestnuts, honey, soy sauce, and seeds, molded into pieces and steamed. This traditional rice dish is used by North Koreans to worship their ancestors and treat guests on New Year's Eve. They think that as they eat medicinal rice in the new year, the whole year will always be lucky, full and sweet. 

 

It can be seen that the traditional New Year's custom in North Korea is quite interesting and special compared to other countries in Asia. Although not as exciting and bustling as other countries who celebrate the same holiday, this is also an opportunity for North Koreans to reunite with their family after a year of hard work.

Various sources