The Korean people celebrate both the calendar new year and the lunar new year. This year, the Lunar New Year celebrations will be on February 17, 18 and 19. The 18th will be the first day of the first new moon, but they also celebrate the day before and the day after. It is a time to visit your hometowns and pay respect to your ancestors’ graves.

Some things that you can do to celebrate the Lunar New Year:

1. See if there is a Lunar New Year party in your area. One of the organizations that I belong to (at least if I remember to pay my membership fee) is hosting a celebration with the local Korean society later this month. We are attending with my son and his friend.

2. Throw your own Lunar New Year party at home. You don’t need to have a big party. Just your family.

3. Go visit your hometown with your family.

4. Learn about ttokguk (a meat soup with sliced rice cakes in it) and manduguk (dumpling soup). These are two foods that are often served during the Lunar New Year celebrations in Korea.

5. Spend time as a family. The Lunar New Year is all about family.

As a side note, this new year is “the year of the pig” and a good year to be born in. According to an article in The Hankyoreh, condom sales aren’t as high because everyone wants their child to be born in the year of the golden pig.

Link: Condom Sales

Personally, I was born in the year of the rabbit.

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