Chilseok () is a Korean traditional

festival A festival is an event celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, Melā, mela, or Muslim holidays, eid. A ...

which falls on the seventh day of the seventh month of the Korean

lunisolar calendar A lunisolar calendar is a calendar in many cultures, that combines monthly lunar cycles with the solar year. As with all calendars which divide the year into months, there is an additional requirement that the year have a whole number of mont ...

, originating from the Chinese Qixi Festival. Chilseok is a period where the heat starts to dwindle and the

Wet season The wet season (sometimes called the rainy season or monsoon season) is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. Generally, the season lasts at least one month. The term ''green season'' is also sometimes used a ...

begins, and the rain that falls during this period is called Chilseok water. As pumpkins, cucumbers, and melons start to flourish during this period, people traditionally offered fried pumpkins to the

Big Dipper The Big Dipper (American English, US, Canadian English, Canada) or the Plough (British English, UK, Hiberno-English, Ireland) is an asterism (astronomy), asterism consisting of seven bright stars of the constellation Ursa Major; six of them ar ...

The story of Chilseok

The origin of the tale is a romantic Chinese folk tale, The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl. It was adopted by Koreans. According to the Korean version, a heavenly king had a daughter called Jiknyeo (), who was a talented weaver. One day, when she looked out of the window while weaving, she saw a young man, a herder called Gyeonu (), just across the

Milky Way The Milky Way or Milky Way Galaxy is the galaxy that includes the Solar System, with the name describing the #Appearance, galaxy's appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars in other arms of the galax ...

, and fell in love with him; the father allowed the two to marry. Afterwards, Jiknyeo refused to weave clothes, and Gyeonu did not take good care of the cows and sheep. The king got very angry, and ordered the couple to live separately, allowing them to meet only once a year. On the seventh day of the seventh month of each year, they were excited to meet each other, but could not cross the Milky Way. However,

crow A crow is a bird of the genus ''Corvus'', or more broadly, a synonym for all of ''Corvus''. The word "crow" is used as part of the common name of many species. The related term "raven" is not linked scientifically to any certain trait but is rathe ...

s and

magpie Magpies are birds of various species of the family Corvidae. Like other members of their family, they are widely considered to be intelligent creatures. The Eurasian magpie, for instance, is thought to rank among the world's most intelligent c ...

s worked together to form a bridge across the Milky Way for the couple. After a while, their sadness returned, for they were forced to wait another year before meeting again. It is believed crows and magpies have no feathers on their heads because of the couple stepping on their heads. If it rains on that night, it is believed to be the couple's tears."Weaver and Herdsman: Jick-Nyo and Kyun-Woo". In: Riordan, James. ''Korean Folk-tales''. Oxford Myths and Legends. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000 994 pp. 14-20.

Chilseok customs

On Chilseok, Koreans traditionally take baths for good health. In addition, it is traditional to eat wheat flour noodles and grilled wheat cakes. Chilseok is known as the last chance to enjoy wheat-based foods, since the cold winds after Chilseok ruin the scent of wheat. People also used to eat wheat pancakes called ''miljeonbyeong'' (밀전병), and '' sirutteok,'' a steamed rice cake covered with azuki beans.

Notes

References

External links

The Origin and Meaning of the Buddhist Tanabata

The Etymology of the Star Festival

Customs of Chilseok

Gyeonu and Jingnyeo
{{Swan Maiden Festivals in Korea Summer festivals Food and drink festivals in South Korea Folk festivals in South Korea Observances set by the Korean calendar Summer in South Korea

The story of Chilseok

Chilseok customs

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

External links