Dongji is a celebration of the Winter Solstice. It takes place every year around December 22. This day has the longest night with the shortest amount of daylight of the year. In Korea, this day is the peak of winter, or midwinter. From this day on, daylight hours begin to increase while hours of darkness decrease. Dongji celebrates the symbolic rebirth of the sun and signals the return of spring. Even though it is an unofficial holiday, events and celebrations related to Dongji do take place.
A long time ago, farmers used Dongji as a way to predict the upcoming agricultural season. If the weather was cold or snowy on Dongji, the upcoming harvest would be bountiful with high yields. On the other hand, if the weather was warm, the upcoming year would bring bad luck and disease to crops.
On Dongji, many families may come together to enjoy patjuk (red bean porridge). The porridge is made using adzuki red beans and rice flour dumplings known as saealshim . Eating patjuk symbolizes the beginning of the new year and those who eat it grow older by a year. Koreans tend to call this day “Little Lunar New Year”.
Red beans also play an important symbolic role. In the past, people believed that ghosts disliked the color red. Still today, it is not uncommon for Koreans to sprinkle red beans around their home to keep negative energy away.
Dongji is a celebration of the Winter Solstice. It takes place every year around December 22. This day has the longest night with the shortest amount of daylight of the year. In Korea, this day is the peak of winter, or midwinter. From this day on, daylight hours begin to increase while hours of darkness decrease. Dongji celebrates the symbolic rebirth of the sun and signals the return of spring. Even though it is an unofficial holiday, events and celebrations related to Dongji do take place.
A long time ago, farmers used Dongji as a way to predict the upcoming agricultural season. If the weather was cold or snowy on Dongji, the upcoming harvest would be bountiful with high yields. On the other hand, if the weather was warm, the upcoming year would bring bad luck and disease to crops.
On Dongji, many families may come together to enjoy patjuk (red bean porridge). The porridge is made using adzuki red beans and rice flour dumplings known as saealshim . Eating patjuk symbolizes the beginning of the new year and those who eat it grow older by a year. Koreans tend to call this day “Little Lunar New Year”.
Red beans also play an important symbolic role. In the past, people believed that ghosts disliked the color red. Still today, it is not uncommon for Koreans to sprinkle red beans around their home to keep negative energy away.