The present Doodle, shown by Seoul, South Korea-based guest artist Kim Jam, observes Chuseok, a three-day, harvest festival observed across the Korean peninsula. As one of the three most significant holidays on the Korean lunar calendar, Chuseok is a period for families to meet up and show gratitude for a fruitful harvest with traditional food, stories, and games.
Chuseok is likewise referred to in Korean as Hangawi, with “han” meaning “large” and “gawi” meaning “middle,” alluding to a major festival in the month! The date for this holiday, the center of the eighth lunar month, was picked to line up with the collect moon, which is the biggest full moon of the year. Families customarily start the day’s festivities with a memorial service known as charye which honors their ancestral heritage with enough songpyeon (half-moon rice cakes) for everybody to appreciate.
To respect a bountiful harvest, holiday activities are perked up with vibrant traditions of Korean entertainment. Samulnori (a percussion quartet) finds the sounds for talchum (a cover dance) and ganggangsullae (an old circle dance) while celebrants play Chuseok games, for example, yutnori (a board game utilizing four wooden sticks), and neolttwigi (standing seesaw).
Happy Chuseok, Korea!