Our Seoul and Tokyo Adventure: Day Thirteen

Although some families perform jaesa on lunar new year's day, my parents do this by the Gregorian calendar, which makes new year's day today. Linked to the Buddhist belief that one's ancestors remain active members of the family for several generations, jaesa rites are a way of concretely showing one's filial ties to past generations and acknowledging the existence of those ancestors in present-day life. This is done by writing the ancestors' names on a special plaque (with fresh calligraphy written for every jaesa and the paper burned afterwards) that sits on a low table filled with food offerings of alcohol, rice, soup, meat, fish, fruit, nuts, and sweet rice cakes--basically as much of a feast as the household can concoct. Candles and incense are lit and small cups of alcohol are freshly poured for the ancestors and then set on the table. All the food is made as accessible as possible for consumption by ancestors by cutting the tops off of fruit, opening bowls of rice, and providing chopsticks and spoons for the ancestors to "eat." (By the way, if any of you have ever travelled to various parts of Asia and your guidebook has advised you never to stick your chopsticks or spoon directly upright in your rice while eating, this is why--such a position for utensils is only done in ceremonies for the dead, and if you ever leave your utensils in that manner at the table, it effectively means that you are also deceased!)

Family members then take turns bowing to the table, showing respect for past generations. In today's case, we performed jaesa for both sets of ancestors, waiting a short time before changing the names on the plaque because we were "supposed to allow them time to eat," as my dad said, adding that "some people open their front doors to let the ancestors in." When I teased my dad, asking why we didn't do that, he said, "Oh, come on! We don't need to do that!" Although jaesa may seem like a somber event, it's actually quite strangely pragmatic. After the ceremonial aspects are finished, the food is cleared away to be eaten by the family later that day (we had the cut pieces of fruit for breakfast, and would eat the rest of the jaesa food for lunch and dinner today), the ceremonial screen, tables, plate stands, incense, candles, and name plaque packed away until next time, and the rest of the day open for whatever relaxing activity you'd like to do on new year's day! Even though it was another cold day, my dad and I went for another bundled-up walk through Suji, this time heading into the nearby mountains for a bit of a stroll before going toward the city. As we entered the mountain paths, this was the first sign we saw:

The sign basically tells people to keep their dogs on a leash while in the park area, but I took the photo of the sign because of the generic dog image that they've used--no simple line drawing of a dog for Suji, oh no--they've chosen the cutest little fluffball for their sign. I mean, really, is there any reason that this particular dog needs to be kept on a leash? It was nice to walk through the forest, which was much warmer than the city streets today, and we did indeed see several dogs being walked, all on leashes, but none were as cute as the one on the sign.

We wandered through Suji without any particular errands, but I knew when we passed a cake shop and my dad said, "Let's just stop here for a second," that it meant that he was craving some cake, and sure enough, we arrived home with some poundcake that we all had with some hot drinks. My dad, Bob, and I played another game of scrabble over our treats while my mom watched TV over hers--here are my dad and Bob after our game, congratulating themselves on being left with the same tile at the end of the game

and accomplishing the goal that my dad set for them about halfway through, which was for both of their scores to add up to be more than my score--something which they (just) accomplished. Let's just say it was a good scrabble start to the new year for me! For dinner, we had more of the delicious jaesa food, with fresh strawberries for dessert.

After dinner came the second of today's new year traditions, saebae, during which the younger generations of a family show respect for the older generations by bowing in front of their seated elders. In return, the younger generations are literally rewarded for their shows of respect with saebae ddon (new-year's-day-bowing money), which is tastefully given out in envelopes.

When I was growing up, we'd sometimes go over to my parents' Korean friends' house on new year's day, and their daughters and I would be happy to see each other, not only to play, but also because the gathering of families meant that there were more adults for us to saebae to!