This weekend marked the first full moon of the new lunar year, or Daeboreum. It is significant here in Korea, and much like the first sunrise of a new year, watching the first full moon rise is thought to bring fortune and luck for the coming year. In years past it was a time when fields were burned to kill any bugs and to prepare for a lucky harvest. I'm sure in more rural parts of the country that is still observed, but here in Busan, they choose to mark the Daeboreum with a huge seaweed bonfire on the beach. People come all day, and write wishes for the coming year on small slips of paper that are thrown onto the seaweed piling. As the papers burn, it is thought that the wishes will come true.
We decided to take the whole family and check out the festival this year. The weather was unusually warm, and it fell on a weekend so it seemed perfect. There were conflicting reports about lighting the bonfire at moonrise or at sunset, etc. so we played it safe and headed down to the beach around 5:30. The girls loved being out at the beach. They played in the sand and ran along the water.
Finally around 6 we headed over to the bonfire site and joined the throngs of people out to watch. The sun slowly set and as the moon crested the hill everyone started cheering and clapping. There was a short ceremony of some sort (we were too far back to really see this part) and then the fire was lit. As the (huge) moon rose overhead the fire grew in strength. It was really quite spectacular to watch. We probably watched it burn for 30 minutes before heading back home.
It was a really neat experience, and I know we will be back next year!
From the far side of the beach where we live. You can see the seaweed pile and all the people already out to watch.
Hitching a ride.
Being Goofy.
Tyler and his girls. And one random girl pirate that hopped into the picture. Oh, Emily. . .
Me and my girls.
First peek of the moon.
Gorgeous full moon overhead.
We bought each of the girls a sparkler.
They loved them.
And were sad when they burned out.
Don't worry. . . no babies were harmed in the taking of these photos.
Our parting shot as we started to walk home. The tree on top of the bonfire finally catching.
2 comments:
I use to love sparklers - although, truth be told I still do. There is nothing like dancing and twirling in the dark with a sparkler. It makes CJ worry though.
That really is quite impressive. You all are looking good. Jenn, you look super!
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