Posted on 12/21/2004 8:19:19 AM PST by Rodney King
Tongji, Korean Folk Holiday
Pyongyang, December 20 (KCNA) -- December twentyone (lunar November 10 this year) is Tongji (winter solstice), a Korean folk holiday. The Korean people have divided the seasons of a year into 24 subdivisions from olden times. Tongji is the 22nd subdivision. Lunar November is, therefore, called the month of Tongji.
In Korea, located in the Northern Hemisphere, Haji (around June 21) is the longest day and Tongji the shortest day.
The Korean people have long observed such solstice days as folk holidays.
In general Tongji falls on Dec. 22. There is not any special rite that day except enjoying gruel.
The gruel is prepared by mixing red-bean mashed and strained with rice and glutinous rice cakes of bird's egg-shape.
It has been told that one should take bird's egg-shaped cakes as many as his or her age for health. The red-bean gruel is nutritious and efficacious for preventing cold in winter. Meanwhile, other folk dishes of the holiday are cold noodle and Sinsollo (a cooking stove with a chafing dish having charcoal in a tube in the center and food around it).
Those Koreans sure know how to Party!
I was beginning to think that my post would not get a single reply.
No "Tongji Pole"? No Airing of Grievances? No Feats of Strength? I'll stick with good, old-fashioned Festivus, thanks very much!
Soylent Green Gruel - Yum!
You learn something new on FreeRepublic every day. I now have an authentic recipe for gruel - something I never envisioned I would need to know except during my worst screaming nightmares.
sorry, obvious puns are my weakness.
My first thought exactly!
I like low-hanging fruit too :)
now if they only had some Soju...
anything to stay warm.
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