Korean calendar
Encyclopedia
The traditional Korean calendar is a lunisolar calendar
, like the traditional calendars of other East Asia
n countries. Dates are calculated from Korea's meridian
, and observances and festivals are based in Korean culture.
The Gregorian calendar
was officially adopted in 1895, but traditional holidays and age-reckoning for older generations are still based on the old calendar. The biggest festival in Korea today is Seollal, the first day of the traditional Korean New Year
. Other important festivals include Daeboreum
also refer to as Boreumdaal (the first full moon), Dano (spring festival) and Chuseok
(harvest moon festival), and Samjinnal
(spring-opening festival). Other minor festivals include Yudu (summer festival), and Chilseok
(moonsoon festival).
See also Public holidays in North Korea
and Public holidays in South Korea
.
s from 270 to 963. Then Chinese era name
with Korean era names were used few times until 1895 when the official use of the lunar calendar ceased.
The Gregorian calendar was adopted by the new Korean Empire
on 1 January 1895, but with years numbered from the foundation of the Joseon Dynasty
in 1393.
From 1945 until 1961 in South Korea
, Gregorian calendar years were counted from the foundation of Gojoseon
in 2333 BCE
(regarded as year one), the date of the legendary founding of Korea by Dangun
, hence these Dangi (단기) years were 4278 to 4294. This numbering was informally used with the Korean lunar calendar before 1945 but is only occasionally used today and mostly used in North Korea.
In North Korea
, the Juche calendar has been used since 1997 to number its years, based on the birth of Kim Il Sung.
, and Buddha's Birthday
. It is also used for jesa memorial services for ancestors and the marking of birthdays by older Koreans.
There are also many regional festivals celebrated according to the lunar calendar.
Lunisolar calendar
A lunisolar calendar is a calendar in many cultures whose date indicates both the moon phase and the time of the solar year. If the solar year is defined as a tropical year then a lunisolar calendar will give an indication of the season; if it is taken as a sidereal year then the calendar will...
, like the traditional calendars of other East Asia
East Asia
East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms...
n countries. Dates are calculated from Korea's meridian
Meridian (geography)
A meridian is an imaginary line on the Earth's surface from the North Pole to the South Pole that connects all locations along it with a given longitude. The position of a point along the meridian is given by its latitude. Each meridian is perpendicular to all circles of latitude...
, and observances and festivals are based in Korean culture.
The Gregorian calendar
Gregorian calendar
The Gregorian calendar, also known as the Western calendar, or Christian calendar, is the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, by a decree signed on 24 February 1582, a papal bull known by its opening words Inter...
was officially adopted in 1895, but traditional holidays and age-reckoning for older generations are still based on the old calendar. The biggest festival in Korea today is Seollal, the first day of the traditional Korean New Year
Korean New Year
Korean New Year, commonly known as Seollal , is the first day of the lunar calendar. It is the most important of the traditional Korean holidays. It consists of a period of celebrations, starting on New Year's Day. Koreans also celebrate solar New Year's Day on January 1 each year, following the...
. Other important festivals include Daeboreum
Daeboreum
Daeboreum is a Korean holiday that celebrates the first full moon of the new year of the lunar Korean calendar. This holiday is accompanied by many traditions.-Traditions:One familiar custom is to crack nuts with one's teeth...
also refer to as Boreumdaal (the first full moon), Dano (spring festival) and Chuseok
Chuseok
Chuseok , originally known as Hangawi , is a major harvest festival and a three-day holiday in Korea celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar. Like many other harvest festivals, it is held around the Autumn Equinox...
(harvest moon festival), and Samjinnal
Samjinnal
Samjinnal is one of sesi pungsok or Korean traditional customs by season, which falls on every March 3 in the lunar calendar. It was called samjil in old Korean language and referred to as sangsa , wonsa , sungsam , sangje or dapcheongjeol in hanja. Samjinnal implies the overlapping of Sam...
(spring-opening festival). Other minor festivals include Yudu (summer festival), and Chilseok
Chilseok
Chilseok is a Korean traditional festival which falls on the seventh day of the seventh month of the Korean lunisolar calendar. Chilseok is derived from the Chinese festival, Qi Xi. Chilseok is a period where the heat starts to pass away and the monsoon season begins, and the rain that falls during...
(moonsoon festival).
See also Public holidays in North Korea
Public holidays in North Korea
This is a list of Public holidays in North Korea. See also the Korean calendar for a list of traditional holidays....
and Public holidays in South Korea
Public holidays in South Korea
Public holidays in South Korea each belong to one or more of three categories:*National Celebration Day *National Flag Raising Day *Public Day Off...
.
History
The traditional calendar designated its years via Korean era nameKorean era name
Korean era names were used during the period of Silla, Goguryeo, Balhae, Taebong, Goryeo, Joseon, and the Korean Empire. Dangun-giwon, the era name originating from the foundation of Gojoseon is also widely used in Korea as an indication of long civilisation of Korea.-Goguryeo:#Yeongnak Korean era...
s from 270 to 963. Then Chinese era name
Chinese era name
A Chinese era name is the regnal year, reign period, or regnal title used when traditionally numbering years in an emperor's reign and naming certain Chinese rulers . Some emperors have several era names, one after another, where each beginning of a new era resets the numbering of the year back...
with Korean era names were used few times until 1895 when the official use of the lunar calendar ceased.
The Gregorian calendar was adopted by the new Korean Empire
Korean Empire
The Greater Korean Empire was an empire of Korea that succeeded the Joseon Dynasty.In October 1897, Emperor Gojong proclaimed the new entity at Gyeongungung Palace and oversaw the partially successful modernization of the military, economy, land system, education system, and various industries...
on 1 January 1895, but with years numbered from the foundation of the Joseon Dynasty
Joseon Dynasty
Joseon , was a Korean state founded by Taejo Yi Seong-gye that lasted for approximately five centuries. It was founded in the aftermath of the overthrow of the Goryeo at what is today the city of Kaesong. Early on, Korea was retitled and the capital was relocated to modern-day Seoul...
in 1393.
From 1945 until 1961 in South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
, Gregorian calendar years were counted from the foundation of Gojoseon
Gojoseon
Gojoseon was an ancient Korean kingdom. Go , meaning "ancient," distinguishes it from the later Joseon Dynasty; Joseon, as it is called in contemporaneous writings, is also romanized as Chosŏn....
in 2333 BCE
Common Era
Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...
(regarded as year one), the date of the legendary founding of Korea by Dangun
Dangun
Dangun Wanggeom was the legendary founder of Gojoseon, the first Korean kingdom, around present-day Liaoning, Manchuria, and the Korean Peninsula. He is said to be the "grandson of heaven", and to have founded the kingdom in 2333 BC...
, hence these Dangi (단기) years were 4278 to 4294. This numbering was informally used with the Korean lunar calendar before 1945 but is only occasionally used today and mostly used in North Korea.
In North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
, the Juche calendar has been used since 1997 to number its years, based on the birth of Kim Il Sung.
Features
- The Korean zodiac of 12 Earthly BranchesEarthly BranchesThe Earthly Branches provide one Chinese system for reckoning time.This system was built from observations of the orbit of Jupiter. Chinese astronomers divided the celestial circle into 12 sections to follow the orbit of Suìxīng . Astronomers rounded the orbit of Suixing to 12 years...
(animals), which were used for counting hours and years; - Ten Heavenly StemsHeavenly StemsThe ten Celestial or Heavenly Stems are a Chinese system of ordinals that first appear during the Shang dynasty, ca. 1250 BC, as the names of the ten days of the week. They were also used in Shang-period ritual as names for dead family members, who were offered sacrifices on the corresponding day...
, which were combined with the 12 Earthly Branches to form a sixty-year cycle; - Twenty-four solar termSolar termA solar term is any of 24 points in traditional East Asian lunisolar calendars that matches a particular astronomical event or signifies some natural phenomenon. The points are spaced 15° apart along the ecliptic and are used by lunisolar calendars to stay synchronized with the seasons. Solar terms...
s (jeolgi 節氣 절기) in the year, spaced roughly 15 days apart; - Lunar months including leap months added every two or three years.
Festivals
The lunar calendar is used for the observation of traditional festivals, such as Seollal, ChuseokChuseok
Chuseok , originally known as Hangawi , is a major harvest festival and a three-day holiday in Korea celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar. Like many other harvest festivals, it is held around the Autumn Equinox...
, and Buddha's Birthday
Buddha's Birthday
Buddha's Birthday, the birthday of the Prince Siddhartha Gautama, is a holiday traditionally celebrated in Mahayana Buddhism.- East Asia except Japan :...
. It is also used for jesa memorial services for ancestors and the marking of birthdays by older Koreans.
Traditional holidays
| Festival | Significance | Events | Date (lunar) | Food |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seollal | Lunar New Year's Day | An ancestral service is offered before the grave of the ancestors, New Year's greetings are exchanged with family, relatives and neighbours; bows to elders (sebae), yutnori. | Day 1 of Month 1 | sliced rice cake in soup (tteokguk), honey cakes (yakwa). |
| Daeboreum Daeboreum Daeboreum is a Korean holiday that celebrates the first full moon of the new year of the lunar Korean calendar. This holiday is accompanied by many traditions.-Traditions:One familiar custom is to crack nuts with one's teeth... |
First full moon | Greeting of the moon (dalmaji), kite-flying, talisman burning to ward evil spirits (aengmagi taeugi), bonfires (daljip taegi) | Day 15 of Month 1 | rice boiled with five grains (ogokbap), nut eating (bureom), wine drinking (gwibalgisul) |
| Meoseumnal | Festival for servants | Housecleaning, coming of age ceremony, fishermen's shaman rite (yeongdeunggut) | Day 1 of Month 2 | stuffed pine-flavoured rice cakes (songpyeon Songpyeon Songpyeon is a traditional Korean food made of glutinous rice. It is a variation of tteok, consisting of small rice cakes traditionally eaten during the Korean autumn harvest festival, Chuseok. They have become a popular symbol of traditional Korean culture... ) |
| Samjinnal Samjinnal Samjinnal is one of sesi pungsok or Korean traditional customs by season, which falls on every March 3 in the lunar calendar. It was called samjil in old Korean language and referred to as sangsa , wonsa , sungsam , sangje or dapcheongjeol in hanja. Samjinnal implies the overlapping of Sam... |
Migrant swallows return | Leg fighting, fortune telling | Day 3 of Month 3 | Azalea wine (dugyonju), pancake (dungyeon hwajeon) |
| Hansik | Beginning of farming season | Visit to ancestral grave for offering rite, and cleaning and maintenance. | Day 105 after winter solstice Winter solstice Winter solstice may refer to:* Winter solstice, astronomical event* Winter Solstice , former band* Winter Solstice: North , seasonal songs* Winter Solstice , 2005 American film... |
cold food only: mugwort cake (ssuktteok), mugwort dumplings (ssukdanja), mugwort soup (ssuktang) |
| Chopail | Buddha's birthday Buddha's Birthday Buddha's Birthday, the birthday of the Prince Siddhartha Gautama, is a holiday traditionally celebrated in Mahayana Buddhism.- East Asia except Japan :... |
Lotus Lantern festival | Day 8 of Month 4 | rice cake (jjinddeok), flower cake (hwajeon Hwajeon Hwajeon is a small, sweet pancake or tteok made of any edible flower petals such as azalea or chrysanthemum and glutinous rice flour, and sugar in Korean cuisine... ) |
| Dano | Spring festival | Washing hair with iris Iris (plant) Iris is a genus of 260-300species of flowering plants with showy flowers. It takes its name from the Greek word for a rainbow, referring to the wide variety of flower colors found among the many species... water, ssireum Ssireum Historically, there have been other terms for "wrestling" in Korean used alongside ssireum, such as gakjeo , gakhui , gakryeok , gakgii , chiuhui , sangbak , jaenggyo .... , swinging, giving fans as gifts |
Day 5 of Month 5 | rice cake with herbs (surichitteok), herring soup (junchiguk) |
| Yudu | Water greeting | Water greeting, washing hair to wash away bad luck | Day 15 of Month 6 | Five coloured noodles (yudumyeon), rice dumplings (sudan) |
| Chilseok Chilseok Chilseok is a Korean traditional festival which falls on the seventh day of the seventh month of the Korean lunisolar calendar. Chilseok is derived from the Chinese festival, Qi Xi. Chilseok is a period where the heat starts to pass away and the monsoon season begins, and the rain that falls during... |
Meeting day of Gyeonwoo and Jiknyeo, in Korean folk tale | Fabric weaving | Day 7 of Month 7 | wheat pancake (milijeonbyeong), rice cake with red beans (sirutteok Sirutteok Sirutteok is a type of Korean rice cake traditionally made by steaming rice or glutinous rice flour in a "siru" , a large earthenware vessel used for steaming which gives "sirutteok" its name. "Sirutteok" is regarded as the oldest form of tteok in Korean history.-Preparation:Sirutteok is made by... ) |
| Baekjung | Worship to Buddha | Worship to Buddha | Day 15 of Month 7 | mixed rice cake (seoktanbyeong) |
| Chuseok Chuseok Chuseok , originally known as Hangawi , is a major harvest festival and a three-day holiday in Korea celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar. Like many other harvest festivals, it is held around the Autumn Equinox... |
Harvest festival | Visit to ancestral grave, ssireum Ssireum Historically, there have been other terms for "wrestling" in Korean used alongside ssireum, such as gakjeo , gakhui , gakryeok , gakgii , chiuhui , sangbak , jaenggyo .... , offering earliest rice grain (olbyeosinmi), circle dance (ganggang suwollae) |
Day 15 of Month 8 | pine flavoured rice cake stuffed with chestnuts, sesame or beans (songpyeon Songpyeon Songpyeon is a traditional Korean food made of glutinous rice. It is a variation of tteok, consisting of small rice cakes traditionally eaten during the Korean autumn harvest festival, Chuseok. They have become a popular symbol of traditional Korean culture... ), taro soup (torantang) |
| Jungyangjeol | Migrant sparrows leave | Celebrating autumn with poetry and painting, composing poetry, enjoying nature. | Day 9 of Month 9 | chrysanthemum pancake (gukhwajeon), roe (eoran), honey citron tea (yujacheong) |
| Dongji | Winter Solstice Winter solstice Winter solstice may refer to:* Winter solstice, astronomical event* Winter Solstice , former band* Winter Solstice: North , seasonal songs* Winter Solstice , 2005 American film... |
Rites to dispel bad spirits | Around December 22 in the solar calendar | redbean soup with rice dumplings (patjuk) |
| Seotdal Geumeum | New Year's Eve New Year's Eve New Year's Eve is observed annually on December 31, the final day of any given year in the Gregorian calendar. In modern societies, New Year's Eve is often celebrated at social gatherings, during which participants dance, eat, consume alcoholic beverages, and watch or light fireworks to mark the... |
Staying up all night long with all doors open to receive ancestral spirits | Last day of Month 12 | mixed rice with vegetables (bibimbap), bean powder rice cakes (injeolmi Injeolmi Injeolmi It is a representative type of glutinous pounded tteok, and has varieties depending on the type of gomul used. Gomul can be made with powdered dried soybeans, azuki beans, or sesame seeds, or sliced dried jujube. Subsidiary ingredients are mixed into the steamed rice while pounding it on... ), traditional biscuits (hangwa Hangwa Hangwa is a general term for Korean traditional confectionery. Common ingredients in hangwa are grain flour, honey, yeot, sugar, fruit or edible root.-Types of hangwa:*Yumilgwa : made by frying and kneading.... ) |
There are also many regional festivals celebrated according to the lunar calendar.
See also
- List of Korea-related topics
- Traditional Korean culture
- Korean era nameKorean era nameKorean era names were used during the period of Silla, Goguryeo, Balhae, Taebong, Goryeo, Joseon, and the Korean Empire. Dangun-giwon, the era name originating from the foundation of Gojoseon is also widely used in Korea as an indication of long civilisation of Korea.-Goguryeo:#Yeongnak Korean era...
- Sexagenary cycleSexagenary cycleThe Chinese sexagenary cycle , also known as the Stems-and-Branches , is a cycle of sixty terms used for recording days or years. It appears, as a means of recording days, in the first Chinese written texts, the Shang dynasty oracle bones from the late second millennium BC. Its use to record years...