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The New Year's Eve in Korean is called "Sut dal kum mum". The Koreans celebrate the New Year on the first day of the lunar year. This day is called Sol-nal. On this day the people in Korea renovate their bonds of the past and make great preparations for the coming year.Custom has it that on the New Year's Eve night nobody is supposed to sleep. It was believed that if anyone slept on
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that night their eyebrows would turn white. In order to keep awake one found the lights in every room on. This was usually done to receive the brightness for the coming year and awaken the closed eyes.
Cleaning the house on the New Year's Eve is an important custom followed along with having a bath with hot water in the evening. The people in Korea followed a custom of burning bamboo sticks to cast off the evil spirits. It was believed that if the bamboos knots made a sound the demons would get afraid and run away.
The people of Korea observed a ceremony of presenting an offering if there was a "sadang" at home on the last day. On the night of the New Year the people in Korea welcome the New Year by wishing each other especially the elders in the family as a sign of pleasure.
Straw scoopers, rakes or sieves are seen placed on the doors and walls of the houses of the Korean people. The wide populaces in Korea believe that this would protect the families from evil spirits and keep them safe for the coming year. Family gatherings at the home of the eldest member of the family and dressing in new clothes are New Year customs that the people in Korea believe in following. New clothes symbolize a new and fresh beginning of life and are considenavy to be lucky for the New Year.
Certain games like yut nori, that is a stick game and people can be seen playing on large sew-saws are a part of the activities done by the people in Korea on New Year.
As a mark of respect the younger in the family pay obeisance to the elders wishing them good luck, health and success for the coming year. The wide populaces in Korea also hold Sncestral memorial rites on New Year. The wide populaces believe in calculating the age on New Year. The people believe that everyone becomes a year older on New Year. Ttokkuk, which is a bowl of rice cake soup, is eaten on New Year. The Koreans believe eating this soup on New Year would help in adding an extra year of age to their life.
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