Chew Socks

This week is a Korean holiday. Two years ago when I first came to Korea, I remembered the holiday's name with this simple phrase: "Chew Socks." The name of the holiday is Chu-Sawk, and it has nothing to do with the eating of footware, but instead is what many Koreans refer to as "Korean Thanksgiving."

It's not Thanksgiving.

First, it's the second largest holiday of the Korean year. Number 1 is Sawl-Nal (Lunar New Year). This one is an oldie, but a goodie. It's Korea's harvest festival, but it's also a day to pay hommage to your ancestors. Not being Korean, I don't know the ins and outs, but basically people prepare a bunch of food on the day before Chu-Sawk, get up really early on Chu-Sawk morning, take that food to the graves of their ancestors, and then have a nice big meal themselves. I can't participate in that part, though. Even though Hye Sook and I are married now, her ancestors still aren't mine, so I should be paying hommage to MY ancestors, not hers

Technically, SHE should be paying hommage to mine too. In Korea, once a woman is married, she's legally and otherwise part of her husband's family. She no longer pays hommage to her own ancestors on Chu-sawk, but instead, helps out with the hommage paying fun on her husband's side. But since I'm all foreign and all, Hye Sook doesn't have to do that. And in any case, my ancestors are too far away, so I'm not giving my ancestors any hommage either. I WILL take part in the eating of food tomorrow, though.

Yummy yummy Chew Socks.

R