▲ Naadam Festival in Mongolia

 On Sept. 9, Korean traditional holiday Chuseok, Korean's Thanksgiving Day was over. Traditional holidays have their own meaning, and all the countries have at least one traditional holiday. This time, The Dankook Herald (DKH) have discovered
about the holidays over the world.

 The DKH interviewed Chinese dankookian, Mi Jia-hua (sophomore, School of Communications). Mi Jia-hua said ‘Chun-jul’ (The Spring Festival) is the biggest traditional holiday in China. It is same as Korea’s Lunar New year’s Day. In
Chun-jul, all the families gather together and make dumpling. When the sunrises they set off firecrackers to exorcise evil spirits. Chun-jul continues for a few days, but it is different in all the areas in China. In Chun-jul they write a word Chullyeon in front of the house, and attach a picture, called ‘Yeon-hwa’ which means baby hugging carp. Chinese believe Yeon-hwa bring good fortunes to their home.

  Chinese enjoys ‘Chun-gun’, a spring roll eaten during Chunjul. This spring roll is a kind of dumpling. The outside is made from flour, egg, and starch, just like a pancake, and the stuffing inside is made from mushrooms, bean sprouts, bamboo shoots, and meats. The stuffing is rolledup into the pancake then fried in oil.

 This is an interesting tradition, but what about other countries? What kinds of traditional holidays do they celebrate? The DKH interviewed Gereltuya Orgilsaikha, from Russia. Ms. Orgilsaikha told us about the Russian New Year's Day. New Years in Russia no longer has any religious significance. The exact date used to change every year. It has been celebrated in March or on Easter, and even once on Christmas Day. It has only been a century, since New Year’s celebrations were
fixed to January 1, but it still remains as the largest holiday of the country,” she said.

  The DKH asked how Russians celebrated their holiday. “On the New Year’s Day, Russians hang decorated trees on their doorsteps. We believe that trees contain various souls and spirits and that by decorating trees with fruits, sweets and gifts and making wishes upon them, we will be presented with magic. We also believe that tree branches chase evil spirits away, which explains why we hang them outside of the door. Furthermore, Russians gather at town squares to watch fireworks. While admiring the sky, we enjoy the season, dance and exchange gifts,” she said.

  Gereltuya Orgilsaikha also recounted special customs that are marked during the holiday season. “On the eve of New Year’s Day, Russians talk, drink and enjoy the ambience with their neighbors. When the morning arrives, Russian children look for gifts under trees, which are given by a man in a red costume, named ‘Дед Μοροз (Santa Clause)’. His helpers are not elves, but are his granddaughters ‘Снегγ’ροчка (Snow Maiden)’.

 Furthermore, “We have bountiful feasts on New Year’s Day. The most representative dish would be ‘Olivier Salad’ . It is easy to make for most Russians. People enjoy it a great deal. It is made up of boiled potatoes, carrots, beans, cucumber, and meat. They cut up all the cooked ingredients and mix them
together with mayonnaise. Also, on the eve of the new year, Russians eat mandarin orange, chocolate, and drink champagne,” she added.

 For a more exotic holiday, the DKH interviewed Χγлан Αтарсайхан from Mongolia. “Apart from all the holidays, the biggest in Mongolia is ‘Naadam’, which is celebrated from the 10 to 13 of July. The government actually made this a national holiday in order to celebrate it officially. It is an event to celebrate the Revolution of Mongolia, as it is a sportive festival which highlights the ardent and brave nature of the Mongolian People,” she said.

 The DKH asked about the events taking place during the Naadam celebration. She explained, “During the holidays, people usually engage in three traditional games: horseback riding, wrestling and archery. First, horseback riding takes place on a track not far from the central stadium. Children aged 5 to 13 race around on horses that are about 2 years old. After the race, there are lucky lots, if they are fortunate enough to win. In terms of wrestling, organizers of the festival pick
wrestlers and sort out a tournament format, made up of 8 to 9 steps. While watching the games, Mongolians eat something called ‘Huushuur’. Finally, an archery competition is held at the central stadium. Men and women of all ages compete. The tournament matches competitors according to their age group and generation.

 “Moreover, as Naadam is a national celebration, diverse events are held throughout the country. Mongolians also compete internally, forming teams according to their municipality, which is called ‘Aimag’. To mark and celebrate the start of the games, there are traditional dances and music performed at the central stadium. Soldiers also march from parliament to the stadium with a flag that is marked with a ‘Soyombo’, a symbolic insignia,” she explained with excitement Many people celebrate traditional holidays around the world. With all this diversity around us, including original food and traditional games, why don’t Dankookians take the time to visitan other country to watch and enjoy them in person?