the first full moon in the lunar calendar occurs on january 15th and it is called daeboreum. koreans believe that this full moon is the biggest and brightest one of the year. traditionally, aka in the olden days, the highlight of daeborum celebrations and festivals was the greeting of the moon. people would compete with torches in hand and race to the top of a mountain. the first one to see the moon is blessed with good luck.
not only did it bring luck, but, the moon was also used to predict the yearly harvest. farmers believed that a pale moonlight would bring frequent rain and red moonlight draught. dim moonlight signified a year of good harvest and conversely, hazy moonlight indicated a bad harvest.
these days, to celebrate daeboreum day, koreans don't necessarily race to the mountaintops to greet the moon, but, they still keep up the tradition of eating nuts, aka bureom. apparently, you're supposed to crack the nuts open with your teeth and do it in a single bite. cracking nuts is supposed to drive away evil spirits and ironically, keep your teeth healthy. don't forget to eat your nuts!
1 comment:
great pix! What kind of lens did you use that lets you get so close?
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