Nuts Geuybulnori Breakfast in the Daeboreum
The 1st of January by the lunar calender.
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.
One familiar custom is to crack nuts with one’s teeth. It is believed that this practice will help keep one’s teeth healthy for the year. Thereby, my grandmother always waked me up in the Daeboreum morning for that reason. Historically, people played the traditional game named Geuybulnori the night before Daeboreum. They burned the dry grass on ridges between rice fields while children whirled around cans full of holes, through which charcoal fire blazed. These cans fertilized the fields and got rid of harmful worms that destroyed the new crops. But, nowadays it is played only in the countryside.
Most interesting event is food. For breakfast on Daeboreum, Ogokbap, a five-grain rice consisting of rice, millet, Indian millet, beans, and red beans is served. This is eaten with various dried herbs, Namool. So, some children who don’t like bean and herbs hate Daeboreum breakfast.
At the Daeboreum night, we usually pray to Moon. Because our ancestor believed that full moon might grant a request.
