#seollnal

[joshnezam]

Seollnal weekend, Busan, Korea.

[crazyjourney]

Happy Chinese New Year!

Its 설날 in Korea at the moment and i'm not back in Singapore like i usually am. So thought i'd share what i know Koreans do during 설날. 

During 설날, everyone heads back to the hometowns to visit their families for a reunion. They all gather at the oldest person's house and catching up with what they have been up to for the past year.

세뱃돈: You get this from elders after bowing twice as a formality. Also known as new year's money they are put in colorful bags.  

한복: Traditional Korean clothing. It used to be a custom to wear a Hanbok during the new year's, but now formal styled western clothes are also worn now.

Traditional games are also played. Check it out here! http://korea.prkorea.com/wordpress/english/2012/03/23/traditional-korean-games/

Singaporeans celebrate Chinese New Year too, just slightly differently. Here are some of the highlights 

A must have during Chinese New Year for a Singaporean Yu Sheng or Lou Hei. It is a salad with many different toppings representing different things that brings you luck and prosperity. There are many variations of Yu Sheng and it is topped with raw salmon or abalone. You can find this in literally any Chinese restaurant in Singapore.  

Here's a tip! When tossing Yu Sheng lift it as high as you can before dropping it. The higher it goes the more prosperity you have in the year ahead.

Mandarin oranges and Ang pow(Red packets)

These are 2 things that Chinese New Year is never without.

Ang pow is something like the Korean 세뱃돈 but in a red packet which represents prosperity.

Mandarin oranges are exchanged as a formality or a custom. Exchange in a pairs! You would probably have quite a bit at the end of the new year, so i would suggest finding a good recipe mandarin orange jam or something you can make with mandarin oranges.

Visting

During Chinese New Year, we visit or get visited by our relatives and close friends. Many titbits, snacks and cookies are sold for you to have at home, this is so you can be a great host. Check out the most popular snacks below!

Bak Kwa (Kinda like pork jerky)

A must have during Chinese New Year, the price of Bak Kwa really goes up during Chinese New Year. It has a sweet and barbequed flavour, really nice to eat warm. If you are health conscious, then here's a heads up. 1 slice of Bak Kwa = a 30mins jog...

Pineapple tarts

It is a butter cookie with sweet candied pineapple. Delicious but beware 3 of those have the calories that are equal to a bowl of rice! 

Hope you guys got to know a little bit more Chinese New Year!

CrazyJourney