Daeboruem's Fire And Moon Viewing Rituals - Ajumma's Itinerary For Night Owls - Part 1

I'm no night owl but I thought it would be fun to see if I could come up with a bucket list of places to visit  in Korea  specially for night owls. While the country is known as Land of the Morning Calm, it's also, I like to believe, a beautiful place at night. So this first posting in a series which I'm calling "Ajumma's Itinerary For Night Owls"  is dedicated to the Daeboreum Festival (Great Full Moon Day to welcome the first full moon of the lunar year).

I know this is somewhat belated as the Daeboreum festival was celebrated in different parts of the country such as in Jeju and Samcheok in Gangwon-do  just a few weeks ago ( at the end of the Spring Festival for the Chinese) but those interested enough can start planning for 2013. You may also want to check out postings on this subject by two bloggers, Sherwin Jones and the author of tigersandmagpies. They have interesting accounts of their first-hand experiences of this festival which originated from China but also developed its own local character and mythology when it spread to the Korean peninsular.

Imagine a

Here's a checklist of what I would do to participate a little more fully in the festival:

• The night before Daeboreum, I'd take part in  gwibulnori (쥐불놀이). This game started off as an agrarian practice when cow herders "burned the dry grass on ridges between rice fields while children whirled around cans full of holes, through which charcoal fire blazed." The latter was supposed to rid the fields of undesirable insects or worms and the burning of the grass was believed to promote the growth of healthier grass fodder for the cattle. Must make the effort to get the traditional crude can instead of a battery-powered device for the full romantic effect. Click here to see what I mean.

• Burn daljip (a tradition of burning a bundle of twigs to bring good luck). Note to self- Remember to get gloves!

• Practise dalmaji i.e. find a novice-friendly mountain to climb with friends and family to catch the first glimpse of the full moon. The idea is the first person to see the moon rise will have good luck all year or a wish will be granted but hey, I'm not planning to race to the top. If the moon will oblige by turning up and not tease me by hiding behind any cloud, I'll count myself lucky.

Aside from these fire and moon-viewing rituals, you may want to look for these festive goodies to savour:

• I'll get the oligatory chestnuts, walnuts etc but I'll draw the line at trying to crack them with my own teeth. The old wives' tale is that by doing this , you won't need dental services for the rest of the year but I have my doubts. Mental note no 2 to self: Carry a nutcracker.

• Eat  Ogokbap (오곡밥 / 五穀밥) for breakfast on Daeboreum. This is a five-"grain" rice consisting of rice, millet, Indian millet, beans, and red beans. No problem - question is: Can I have it with my kimchi tchigae?   Two other dishes which are on the eat-list would be namul and  Yaksik (약식 / 藥食), which is made of glutinous rice, chestnuts, pinenuts, honey, sauce, and sesame oil.

• Drink cheongju , a clear rice wine which is supposed to clear the ears to hear good news for the rest of the year. Hmmm....if it's anything like soju, I'll pass. I'd rather drink a toast to the moon with bokbunja.
  
  If jostling with the crowds in open fields and risking getting too close to burning embers doesn't appeal to you, there's another way one can observe Daeboreum in a more sedate manner.

Woljeongsa Temple had a 2 day, 1 night templestay program specially designed for the occasion ( 17 and 18 February). It included :

•  meditation in the moonlight - that almost sounds romantic.
• making a wish list and circling a pagoda in the hope that your wish will be fulfilled, and
• Dari Bapggi (Treading the Bridge ritual to stave off bad luck for the year)

sources:
http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_2_1.jsp?cid=697232
http://buriburi.go.kr/foreign/eng/htmls/main.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daeboreum
http://www.sherwinvjones.com/gyeongjublog/2012/02/photos-dangsan-tree-on-daeboreum/
http://eng.templestay.com/board/board.asp?bt=2&idx=132&cid=13
http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/FU/FU_EN_15.jsp?cid=1249628
http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_6.jsp?cid=255585
http://tigersandmagpies.com/2012/02/jeju-jeongwol-daeboreum-fire-festival-2012/
http://www.chinesefortunecalendar.com/LanternFestival.htm
http://www.globaltimes.cn/NEWS/tabid/99/ID/694421/Lantern-Festival-2012-in-China.aspx
http://books.google.com.my/books?id=VSIsb4qmoQcC&pg=PA89&lpg=PA89&dq=origins+of+daeboreum&source=bl&ots=Ra43itWI7O&sig=gJLWJESBKIFCjekoJT-vZl0JauM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=4PBNT-7aEcLRrQeV7uyKDw&ved=0CDUQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=origins%20of%20daeboreum&f=false
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_owl_(person)
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/art/2011/03/203_39010.html