Korean birthday celebrations
When you are born in Korea, you get a special day every year to celebrate your birthday! Unlike other countries, where people often blow out candles on a cake and receive presents, Korea has a different way of celebrating.
On your first birthday, you are considered to be one year old no matter how many actual days or months it has been since you were born. And because ancestral tradition is very important in Korea, your family will hold a big celebration called Doljanchi. This celebration marks the end of the first year of your life and the beginning of the second.
During the celebration, your family and friends gather together and lots of different things happen. One of the main things is that your parents will lay out a bunch of objects in front of you, such as a pencil or a toy. Whichever object you choose first is said to represent your future career or potential talents!
Your parents will also have a large table with different ingredients and objects on it, such as string, rice, scissors, and ink. Then they will invite you to grab something from the table. What you choose is supposed to represent your future. For example, if you grab the ink and brush, you’re said to have a promising future as a scholar or writer!
Another important part of the celebration is the traditional rice cake called Baekseolgi, which is decorated with different shapes and colors. In some traditions, your parents will put a piece of cake in front of you and you are encouraged to grab it on your own! If you do, it’s thought to be a sign of good luck and success in the future.
Each year after your first, your parents will celebrate your birthday again, but usually in a more casual way. Children will typically receive money as a gift, plus a special kind of seaweed soup known as miyeok guk, which is made of seaweed and beef broth.
Overall, a birthday in Korea is a time to celebrate not just another year of life, but also the potential for a happy and successful future!
On your first birthday, you are considered to be one year old no matter how many actual days or months it has been since you were born. And because ancestral tradition is very important in Korea, your family will hold a big celebration called Doljanchi. This celebration marks the end of the first year of your life and the beginning of the second.
During the celebration, your family and friends gather together and lots of different things happen. One of the main things is that your parents will lay out a bunch of objects in front of you, such as a pencil or a toy. Whichever object you choose first is said to represent your future career or potential talents!
Your parents will also have a large table with different ingredients and objects on it, such as string, rice, scissors, and ink. Then they will invite you to grab something from the table. What you choose is supposed to represent your future. For example, if you grab the ink and brush, you’re said to have a promising future as a scholar or writer!
Another important part of the celebration is the traditional rice cake called Baekseolgi, which is decorated with different shapes and colors. In some traditions, your parents will put a piece of cake in front of you and you are encouraged to grab it on your own! If you do, it’s thought to be a sign of good luck and success in the future.
Each year after your first, your parents will celebrate your birthday again, but usually in a more casual way. Children will typically receive money as a gift, plus a special kind of seaweed soup known as miyeok guk, which is made of seaweed and beef broth.
Overall, a birthday in Korea is a time to celebrate not just another year of life, but also the potential for a happy and successful future!
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