Sol (lunar New Year’s Day) is a traditional folk festival of the Korean nation.
The Korean people have celebrated Sol in a large scale from the olden times. Since Sol is a festival celebrating the first day of the New Year, they used to make a good preparation. Members of the family used to make new clothes to wear on the New Year’ s day or wash their used clothes and repair so as to make them fresh, and clean the outside and inside of the house tidy. And they used to prepare New Year’s festive dishes or to prepare new labor tools and household tools.
On the eve of the New Year’ s Day, whole family used to make the lamp bright and remain awake all night to greet the oncoming New Year.
There is a proverb related to this custom in Korea: “If one sleeps on the New Year’s Eve, both of his eyebrows would turn gray.” This proverb might have been created from the emotional psychology to greet the new day together with all members of the family.
On the morning of the New Year’ s Day people used to prepare New Year’ s festive dishes to hold ancestor-memorial services, New Year’ s greetings to the late ancestors.
And the juniors performed a New Year’s bow to seniors of their family and their neighboring houses, their masters and relatives. Seniors who received New Year’ s bow replied with good words and gave snacks or coins (this is called money as a gift in the New Year) to children who made New Year’ s bow.
Ancestor-memorial service and New Year’ s bow have been considered as compulsory etiquette on the New Year’ s Day since they are fine customs that enable the people to observe good manners and ac
Festive dishes for the New Year, too, were distinctive. What is considered best of the festive dishes is ttok (rice-cake). Ttok is national dish peculiar to Korea that can be made by grinding rice into flour and kneading it.
Ttok soup that can be made by boiling sliced ttok in the soup flavored with soy and seasoning it with pheasant meat and pepper was a distinctive dish for the lunar New Year’s Day. Since everybody had ttok soup habitually on the lunar New Year’s Day, this was called ttok for gaining an age.
The Korean people had played different folk games on the New Year’s Day.
People who had spent the lunar New Year’s Day exchanging New Year’s greetings, having festive dishes and playing folk games used to go to bed early on the evening of the day.
This was necessary for people to give a rest to their children who had a poor sleep for sitting up all night the day before the lunar New Year’s Day and felt tired with playing folk games. And adults, too, had to have a good rest for working well from the outset of the New Year.
Today, the custom related to the lunar New Year’s Day handed down from the ancient times are well preserved in the DPRK which pays a deep attention to preserving cultural tradition and good manners and custom peculiar to nation in keeping with the interests of the people.
Preparations for the lunar New Year’s Day in the DPRK are made in detail under the nationwide attention.
Looking back on the year in which they have worked performing miracles and innovations on the day before the New Year’s Day in a c
With the ringing of the bell announcing the New Year’s Day, men and women of all ages make a deep bow of thanks to the great President Kim Il Sung, who liberated the country deprived by the Japanese imperialists and has built the people-centered socialism to make them masters of the country and to respected Leader Kim Jong Il who safeguards the dignity of the country and nation and provides the people with happiness by his Songun politics. And they make a firm determination to bring about fresh innovations in the struggle for building a great, prosperous and powerful nation under the Songun leadership of Kim Jong Il in the new year, too.
Children in beautiful national dress offer the New Year’s bow to the seniors of the family and neighbors, and adults, too, exchange the New Year’s greetings each other before they have a good breakfast.
Celebration performances in theatres and houses of culture built in many parts of the street attract the attention of the people and folk games played in the broad squares and gymnasiums catch the eyes of the people.
Restaurants serve special dishes to make happier the people in festive mood.
At the night of the lunar New Year’s Day, the whole street is brilliantly illuminated and laug
The lunar New Year’s Day in Korea, indeed, is a happy and significant day.
