Korean birthday celebrations
Korean birthday celebrations or Dol are one of the important facets of Korean culture. When a person reaches an important age in his or her life, Koreans have unique celebrations to mark these milestones. Dol means it has been 365 days since the baby's birth.
Dol (돌)
Dol (doljanchi, or tol) is probably one of the best-known of the Korean birthday celebrations. Dol is celebrated for the first year of a child.[1]
The first part of the dol celebration is prayer. Traditionally, Koreans would pray to two of the many Korean gods: Sansin (the mountain god) and Samsin (the birth goddess). Koreans would prepare the praying table with specific foods: a bowl of steamed
Before the main part of the celebration, the baby is dressed in very colorful, ornate clothing called dol-bok. The dol-bok that the child wears differs according to the child's sex. A boy would traditionally wear a pink or striped jeogori (jacket) with purple or gray baji (pants), a striped durumagi (long jacket), a blue vest printed with a gold or silver pattern or a striped magoja (jacket), a jeonbok (long blue vest) with a gold or silver pattern, a bokgeon (black hat with long tail), and tarae-beoseon (traditional socks). A girl would wear a striped jeogori, a long red chima (skirt), a gold-and-silver printed jobawi (hat) and tarae-beoseon. In addition to their dol-bok, boys and girls would wear a long dol-tti (belt that wraps around the body twice) for longevity and a dol-jumeoni (pouch) for luck. The dol-jumeoni would be made of fine silk, with a thread to open and close it. Buttons were not used in the dol-bok, to symbolize longevity.[3]
The doljabi is the main celebration of dol. A large table is prepared with over a dozen different types of rice cakes or tteok (the main food). Some types of tteok are baekseolgi (white steamed rice cakes), susu-gyeongdan (rice cakes coated with rough red bean powder), mujigae-tteok (rainbow-colored steamed rice cakes) and gyepi-tteok (puffed-air rice cakes). Along with the tteok, fruit is also served; the fruit on the table varies, depending on the season. There is also a bowl of rice and various other foods placed on the table. Food is not the only thing on the table, however; there is also a large spool of thread, a brush, a
Seire (세이레)
The baby's well-being is celebrated 21 days after the birth with a meal of white rice,
Baegil (백일)
Another birthday celebration is baegil (100th-day celebration). During this celebration, the family worships Samsin. They make her offerings of rice and soup for having cared for the infant and the mother, and for having helped them live through a difficult period. They give thanks to Samsin and also pray for jae-ak (wealth), longevity, and chobok (traditional word for "luck").[7] After the prayer the family, relatives and friends celebrate with rice cakes, wine, and other delicacies such as red and black bean cakes sweetened with sugar or honey. In order to protect the child, red bean rice cakes are placed at the four compass points of the house. This not only brought protection, but was also believed to bring good fortune and happiness.[8] It is widely believed that if 100 people share the rice cakes the child will live a long life, so the family would also send rice cakes to neighbors and others. Those who receive rice cakes return the dishes with lengths of thread (expressing the hope for longevity), rice and money (symbolizing future wealth).[9]
Hwangap (환갑)
When a person turns 60, there was a celebration known as hwangap. This was considered an auspicious year, since when someone turned 60 the cycle of the Korean zodiac is complete. Each person is born under one of the twelve zodiac animals. It takes 60 years for the zodiac animal and the element under which one is born to align.[10] Another reason that hwangap is so important is that many years ago (before the advent of modern medicine), it was uncommon for a person to live 60 years. There is a celebration; children honor their parents with a feast and merrymaking. Part of the celebration involves the children of the birthday celebrant; starting with the eldest, they bow and offer wine to their parents. After the children give their respects to their parents, their children show respect to them; again starting with the eldest, in the same way. While these rituals are being carried out, traditional music is played and professional entertainers sing songs, encouraging people to drink. In order to make the recipient of the hwangap feel young, adults and teens dress in children's clothing. They also sing children's songs and dance children's dances.[11]
Coming-of-age rites
A less well-known birthday celebration is when a boy or girl reaches adult age (20 for the boy and 15 for the girl). When a boy turned into an adult he would tie his hair into a top knot and be given a gat (traditional cylindrical Korean hat made of horsehair). He would be required to lift a heavy rock as a test of his strength. If he can lift and move the rock, he is considered a man. A girl would become an adult when she married and showed her non-single status by rolling her braided hair into a chignon bun and fixing it with a binyeo, a long ornamental hairpin.[12]
See also
- Doljanchi
- East Asian age reckoning § Korea
- Twelve Auspicious Rites, a similar series of milestones for Burmese children
References
- ^ Child's first birthday (tol). Retrieved 10/05, 2008, from http://www.lifeinkorea.com/culture/tol/tol.cfm#baekil
- ^ Child's first birthday (tol). Retrieved 10/05, 2008, from http://www.lifeinkorea.com/culture/tol/tol.cfm#baekil
- ^ Child's first birthday (tol). Retrieved 10/05, 2008, from http://www.lifeinkorea.com/culture/tol/tol.cfm#baekil
- ^ Child's first birthday (tol). Retrieved 10/05, 2008, from http://www.lifeinkorea.com/culture/tol/tol.cfm#baekil
- ^ Doljabi Sets in modern times. Retrieved 12/10, 2020, from https://joteta.com/collections/doljabi-set
- ^ Festive Occasions: The Customs in Korea by Yoon Seo-seok
- ^ Child's first birthday (tol). Retrieved 10/05, 2008, from http://www.lifeinkorea.com/culture/tol/tol.cfm#baekil
- ^ Korean Embassy. (2000). Birthday celebrations. Retrieved 10/5, 2008, from http://www.asianinfo.org/asianinfo/korea/cel/birthday_celebrations.htm
- ^ "Birthday Traditions from Around the World" . Retrieved 10/12, 2008, from <http://www.coolest-kid-birthday-parties.com/birthday-traditions.html>.
- ^ "Chinese Zodiac." . Retrieved 10/12, 2008, from <http://www.peprimer.com/chinzo.html#SECTION1>.
- ^ Korean Embassy. (2000). Birthday celebrations. Retrieved 10/5, 2008, from http://www.asianinfo.org/asianinfo/korea/cel/birthday_celebrations.htm
- ^ Korean Overseas Information Service, Haeoe Kongbogwa (Ed. 1). (1995). Korean heritage Series