Squished between all the dentist appointments and teacher conferences on our calendars are those wonderful things called “holidays.” Or sometimes they’re called “birthdays” or even “parties.” For Bunchland families, there’s always a reason to celebrate.
- CITY: Toronto, Ontario
- OUR BUNCH: Seung-Yoon Lisa, 35, laywer. Dave Jae-Hyung, 37, teacher. Indigo Sohyun a.k.a. Boo Boo Bear, 22 months, supercute picture drawer. Pori, cat.
The Lunar New Year, which begins on February 14th this year, is based on the lunisolar Chinese calendar. Here is how Seung-Yoon Lisa’s Korean family celebrates.
Usually what happens is you go to the house of the eldest person in the family. You eat rice cake soup, and the number of bowls of soup you eat signifies the number of years you’ll be living. So you eat more to guarantee yourself more years of life.
The younger generation greets the older generation. We bow to them and we just wish them new luck for the new year. We say, “We pray that you’re healthy and well and that good things happen.” And the younger kids often get little treats in appreciation of the new wishes they give, such as envelopes of cash.
Next, there is a sort of memorial service. My aunt cooks up this huge crazy feast for previous generations who have passed on. She prepares an entire table of food for them as if they are sitting there. We all individually go up and pay our respects to each individual ancestor by bowing and offerering them a beverage, like a glass of wine. Then we clear the table and an entirely new feast is brought out for a different set of elders who have passed. There’s also rules about how to lay the food out on the table, based on the colour and the type of food. Red goes here, green goes here, and so on. And then we eat, and that’s that!
Wanna make rice cake soup? Here’s how.
Photos by sunny_J via Flickr.
Link:
Kids’ books about Lunar New Year
Bunchland wants to hear about how your family gets down. Email amanda@bunchfamily.ca.
