The Chuseok Holiday is the biggest holiday in Korea. This year (2007) it is celebrated from September 24-26. It is a time when Koreans leave their homes to travel to their hometowns all over Korea. Many people visit the grave sites of ancestors and tend to the graves. They will also leave food and drink in honor of their ancestors. It is also the time that traditional Hanboks are worn. Gifts are bought for parents and grandparents. Our local Home Plus had a huge section devoted to Chuseok gifts. There were fruit gift boxes and even Spam gift boxes. My husband brought home a "Dove" gift box filled with "Dove" products.
It is a time to gather together and be thankful, very much like the U.S. Thanksgiving. The main food of Chuseok is songpyeon which is half moon shaped rice cakes filled with red beans and sesame and steamed over pine needles. Families make songpyeon the eve before the holiday and it is an old Korean saying that whoever makes the prettiest songpyeon will have the best looking spouse.
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