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weatherman
Joined: 14 Jan 2003
Location: Korea
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 Posted: Tue Apr 04, 2006 7:16 am Post subject: Tomorrow used to be a national holiday |
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Tomorrow used to be a holiday. Arbor Day. Or in the traditional Korean sense, Hanshik. It was nice to have this day off from the grind. Cheers to all who have ever had this day off or have or celebrated a past family member on this day.
http://www.clickasia.co.kr/about/h0405.htm
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The 105th day from the winter solstice.It is on Chung Myung day or the day after and it usually falls on the second month and occasionally third month of the lunar calendar. (1: Chung Myung Day usually falls on approximately the 5th of April of the solar calendar, and it is a day before or after Hanshik day. On this day, on most of the farms, the preparations for rice paddies are begun and the soil is turned over of paddy fields and dry fields banks is begun.
This day falls on April 5 of the solar calendar and from ancient times it has been called one of the four major traditional holidays along with New Year's Day, Tano and Chusok. On this day, the government officials head along to visit ancestral shrines of the royal family and the people, after preparing wine and fruits and have a brief ancestor memorial service they visit their ancestor's graves. tombs.
If the grave was unattended they put on new grass and this is called gyejacho.
Also, this is the day when trees are planted around the grave. But it is said that if the Hanshik falls on March, the planting of new grass not performed. The custom of visiting ancestor's graves is said to have originated from China's Tang Dynasty and was then brought to our country during the Korean Shilla Dynasty period.
During the Koryo Dynasty, Hanshik was observed as the most important traditional holiday where officials were permitted to visit ancestors' graves and prisoners were not executed. During the Chosun Dynasty the importance of its folkloric stand has grown, and although banquets were held during the King Chojung on recent times, except for the visits to ancestral graves all the other observances have been abolished.
The name Hanshik comes from the old custom of not making fire and eating cold food on this day but this origination of Hanshik is said to be to console the Gyejachoo, a loyal subject from China's Jin Dynasty.
When Gyejachoo was being chased by treacherous royal subjects and hid in Myun Mountain, Mungong recognized his loyalty and came to find him but he would not come out so he started a fire on Myun Mountain. However Gyejachoo did not come out from the mountain and died in the fire so people started to mourn for him and hence began the tradition of eating cold food.
Actually though it is thought that this tradition comes from an old custom of a religious rite observed every spring when a new fire would be made but preceding this making a fire would be forbidden for a period of time. On this day, the crop seeds would be sown in farms. |
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just because
Joined: 01 Aug 2003
Location: Changwon - 4964
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| Posted: Tue Apr 04, 2006 7:34 am Post subject: |
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Yes, i saw a red day on my calander but then realized that it is Arbor Day which is no longer a holiday....  |
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weatherman
Joined: 14 Jan 2003
Location: Korea
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| Posted: Tue Apr 04, 2006 7:40 am Post subject: |
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| just because wrote: |
| Yes, i saw a red day on my calander but then realized that it is Arbor Day which is no longer a holiday.... |
It is really sad on some level.....
Before.....Planting trees. Giving your ancesters a visit..... Now it is work.
A link to the past has been erased. |
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crazylemongirl
Joined: 23 Mar 2003
Location: almost there...
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| Posted: Tue Apr 04, 2006 3:47 pm Post subject: |
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I get monday off for my schools anniversary  yah 3 day weekends! |
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Col.Brandon
Joined: 09 Aug 2004
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Tue Apr 04, 2006 5:32 pm Post subject: |
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| Never mind. Seoulites get an election day off in May. "The government is having an erection", my coworker said. |
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The King of Kwangju
Joined: 10 Feb 2003
Location: New York City
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| Posted: Tue Apr 04, 2006 5:37 pm Post subject: |
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| I remember it well, w-man. |
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desultude
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Location: Dangling my toes in the Persian Gulf
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| Posted: Tue Apr 04, 2006 5:59 pm Post subject: |
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It was really a nice holiday- our campus would fill with Daegu families on picnics, and everything is in full bloom. Today it is the same grind on campus- students running to classes, everyone busy. Maybe the cold greyness today is because of the lost holiday.  |
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RACETRAITOR
Joined: 24 Oct 2005
Location: Seoul, South Korea
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| Posted: Tue Apr 04, 2006 7:00 pm Post subject: |
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Korea used to brag about the number of statutory holidays they had. What changed?
Look forward on your calendar. We're not going to get any of those big three-day holidays for a long while because they all intersect with weekends. |
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schwa
Joined: 18 Jan 2003
Location: Yap
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| Posted: Wed Apr 05, 2006 1:26 am Post subject: |
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| RACETRAITOR wrote: |
| Korea used to brag about the number of statutory holidays they had. What changed? |
The length of the workweek, for many Koreans. |
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cwemory
Joined: 14 Jan 2006
Location: Gunpo, Korea
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| Posted: Wed Apr 05, 2006 2:32 am Post subject: |
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Why exactly isn't it a holiday this year? It is the only red weekday on my calendar that is not a holiday.
All of the trees destroyed during the Japanese Occupation have not been replanted yet have they? |
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just because
Joined: 01 Aug 2003
Location: Changwon - 4964
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| Posted: Wed Apr 05, 2006 7:53 am Post subject: |
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| They cancelled it as a holiday as before most workers had to work a 6 day work week so when it changed to 5 they decided to knock 2 holidays off....arbor day is one and there will be another one(probably the one really close to Chuseok) knocked off next year |
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Lizara
Joined: 14 Apr 2004
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Wed Apr 05, 2006 8:08 am Post subject: |
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| What's this about an election day off? |
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coolsage
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Location: The overcast afternoon of the soul
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| Posted: Thu Apr 06, 2006 8:56 am Post subject: |
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| My colleague didn't get the memo, and gave his students the day off, thus giving himself the day off as well. Sometimes the Korean Lack of Information can pay back. |
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Gord
Joined: 25 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Fri Apr 07, 2006 2:14 am Post subject: |
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| cwemory wrote: |
Why exactly isn't it a holiday this year? It is the only red weekday on my calendar that is not a holiday.
All of the trees destroyed during the Japanese Occupation have not been replanted yet have they? |
The place was deforested during the 19th century before the keys to the empire were turned over to Japan. One of the first things Japan did was to start an agressive reforestation program to curb flooding, slides, and other problems which contributed to the empire collapsing in on itself in the first place.
Though the forests were once again murdered during the Korean War with rampant fires. |
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