Chusok, Folk Holiday of Our People

October ６ this year (August １５th of the lunar calendar) is the Chusok festival (Harvest Moon Day), which is traditionally celebrated by our people.

Chusok is also called "Kawi" or "Hangawi".

Some records of history say that our people have celebrated the Harvest Moon Day with the pleasure of gathering in a good harvest.

The first formality of the Chusok holiday was to visit one’s ancestral grave.

From earlier ages, on the Chusok holiday our people prepare holiday dishes with the new crops of the year and visit their ancestral graves to hold memorial services.

The manners of our people to visit their ancestral graves reflect their beautiful moral traits.

Special dishes on the Chusok holiday include half-moon shaped rice-cake and glutinous rice-cake covered with honey and boiled chestnut.

Special dish of Pyongyang area for the day was Nochi (a fried cake made of glutinous rice and malty powder).

On the holiday they played folk games like swinging and ssirum (Korean wrestling) and in the evening, they spent a pleasant time, enjoying the full moon.

Even now the Chusok holiday (Harvest Moon Day) is the folk holiday, serving as a meaningful occasion of recollecting the revolutionary forerunners, comrades, parents, brothers and sisters, relatives and friends who passed away earlier.

Rodong Sinmun