Happy Chuseok!

Chuseok is a Korean harvest festival celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month every year. It's kind of like Korean Thanksgiving. This year, Sara and I were really blessed to be invited to the home of my Korean "parents" for a Chuseok celebration.

As soon as we arrived, my oma (Korean for "mother") rushed us into her bedroom to change into some beautiful hanboks (traditional Korean dress). We felt like princesses!




Me with Oma


Sara with Abba

We also got to make songpyeon (traditional Korean rice cakes)!


Oma and her two sons, Geum-ho & Geum-won.


Sara and I learning how to make Songpyeon.


The rice cake gets filled with some sort of sesame seed mixture.


After getting rolled and filled, the Songpyeon were steamed with pine needles (for flavor & scent, I think).


Delicious!


An amazing spread of traditional Korean food!

After dinner, we had a bit of a "performance time." Sara did some dancing, Oma played her harmonica, and I did some singing. It was fun to sing a couple of Korean songs, and even an Italian opera song with Geum-won, the eldest son. (It was Se tu m'ami, the same song I sang several years ago for my Soup Nana before she passed away.) I also enjoyed singing All in All in English while my Korean father sang the same song in Korean. It was pretty sweet to praise the Lord in a couple of languages at the same time!


Family Photo^^

Sara and I were so blessed by the warmth and hospitality that my Korean "parents" shared with us. It was truly an honor to be invited into their home, especially during Chuseok!