“To be alive is to totally and openly participate in the simplicity and elegance of here and now.”

HUGE festival, this is only part of it

About a month ago I went to a really fun festival. It was the Gangneung Danoje Festival, the largest traditional festival in Korea. Dano is the 5th day of the 5th month of the lunar year. It was a day to pray for a good harvest, and to promote well-being and good health before the rainy season in summer which would spread diseases and other illnesses.  It is a "traditional Korean festival which UNESCO designated as a masterpiece of human tradition and intangible cultural heritage." 


It represents the mixture of the spiritual background of Korea displaying a diversity of ceremonies with Confucianism, Shamanism, Taoism, and Buddhism rituals.  There were different traditional games, performances, music, rituals and customs, and mask dramas. There was also Korean wrestling (for men) and swinging (for women) to kind of "show off themselves" because they believe this day, the Dano day, is the day all the universe converges and all the energies of nature become one, including the best day to fall in love. 

it was so refreshing, and smelt nice

I made one of these pictures, different character

There is tons of traditional symbolism in everything they wear, eat, and do. There were many traditions for good luck, worshiping the mountain and guardian women deities of the region, preventing misfortunes, and deterring evil spirits. For example there a place to wash your hair in iris infused water, and sample wine and  a rice cake while wishing your family good health and happiness. In addition, there were lots of crafts with the Dano characters such as making your own masks, painting/coloring the characters (which I did), making the festival fans (represents a gift to give family/loved ones hoping for a healthy, cool summer).

The largest market in Korea is held during this festival as well, with goods from all the different areas of the country. 

One of my new addictions :) At a couple festivals they've had this make-your-own version. Which is awesome, since as most of you know I go crazy with toppings! Think snow-cone sundae, it's AMAZING! Here it is.

There was a mask dance performed by elementary school students. It was very impressive!

"The Gwanno Mask Drama is pantomime that was traditionally performed by the male and female servants of the government office.   The characters are the yangban aristocrat, the  new bride, two sisiddakddagi, and two jangjamari. Ten or so musicians perform the accompaniment.

 -The yangban who wears a peaked hat decorated with 30 cm pheasant feathers and carries a fan, and the new bride, with red spots on her cheeks and forehead, symbolize the male and female tutelary deities
- The jangjamari, who wear burlap bags and adorn themselves with seaweed and grains, exhibit the complex characteristics of the deities of the sea and earth. The sisiddakddagi, who look threatening with their faces painted in a variety of colors and carry red swords, represent the deities who ward off evil spirits. 
-The story consists of five scenes. First, the two Jangnamari perform the pastime scene, then the yangban
and the new bride performs the love scene, then the two sisiddakddagi perform the interruption scene. After this, the new bride pretends to commit suicide to prove her love, but in the final scene everyone is reconciled."

“Be in love with your life. Enjoy every minute of it."

A few weekends ago I went down to the 2nd largest city here, Busan, to see a really awesome sand festival!! The theme this year was movies, so all the sand sculptures/pictures depicted different scenes, characters, actors, etc. from various films.

There was a place to make sand crafts, individual mini sand mounds for sculpture building, and a big dune with sand sledding.

There was also a parade with characters from movies, interesting random bands, people with wild hair and crazy costumes, Taekwondo kids, and mini shows with fights and battles, and song/dance performances.

Later in the day there was a reggae concert followed by the opening ceremony. This was quite impressive with a live sand artist, fireworks, a Korean pop group, fire dancers, and a popular Korean rock band who put on a really great concert!! After the concert, they turned the beach into the "Sand Club" and they brought out DJs and a live band, and everyone danced on the beach! What a great night!

Before I left this city, I checked out the "world's largest department store." It's no longer Macy's. It's called Shinsegae Centrum City. There is a duplicate Trevi fountain, ice skating rink, driving range, sports club and spa, etc. I mostly wanted to check out the epic food court I had read about online. Oh my goodness! I wish I could have eaten about 10 meals there! It was incredible, with a ridiculous amount of different types of food, along with a fresh market adjacent to it! I settled on a few snacks to go, and while there indulged in lasagna, a piece of honeydew melon, and a crepe like cone, filled with bananas, chocolate sauce, cream, and ice cream. Heavenly.

"Be glad of life, because it gives you the chance to love and to work and to play and to look up at the stars."

Finally a quick one! haha :)
During a long holiday weekend, I had to the chance to spend some time outdoors and by the ocean! It felt like forever since I'd been to the beach, and now especially that it's warmed up so much, I was missing it! It was a wonderful change of scenery.

I enjoyed some kayaking which I haven't done in years, hiking, fireworks, bonfires, and dance parties on the beach, and great food. I had the opportunity to super practice my Korean reading skills traveling by local buses across the entire island, meet some really cool people, have some crazy adventures!

A couple weeks ago I went to the Firefly festival. There were some really entertaining kids' activities to watch such as huge water gun fights, pottery and soap making, wood crafts, and catching trout in the river with their hands. It was so impressive to see kids coming out holding big fish in each hand.

wedding

farmers

What I enjoyed most was the 3 parades/processions. First, there was one depicting a traditional wedding, next a funeral, and third a one for farmers/peasants. It was fascinating to see the traditions of their culture. It was so interesting to see the different types of clothes and colors for the ceremonies, the music, and everything! Overall, it was a really nice day and a pretty little festival to walk around.

One Friday morning my school went on a lovely morning hike. It was a great opportunity to get to hang with the kids outside of  the normal classroom setting. It was just a quick trip to a nearby mountain. It was so nice to be outside and not in school on this bright and sunny day.  

"I said, 'remember this moment' in the back of my mind"

The Lotus Lantern Festival in Seoul is an absolutely incredible event! It's in honor of Buddha's birthday and a grand celebration!! Before the first event, the Lotus Lantern Parade, there is a Buddhist cheer rally, kind of a big pep rally where the participants in the parade get pumped up for later that evening.

Just about everyone was wearing their hanbok (the Korean traditional dress), all the monks were in their robes, and there were thousands of lanterns made of hanji (traditional paper) in various shapes, sizes, and colors. This energetic pep rally lasted a couple hours and was filled with lots of dancing, some chanting/praying and singing as well. There was even a "Happy Birthday Buddha" song haha!

The parade was held in the downtown area of Seoul. It lasted a couple hours and was absolutely extraordinary! Music, giant floats made of paper, and hundreds and hundreds of glowing lanterns. It looked like I'd stepped into a Disney movie. Tangled anyone?

Words can't do it justice, not even pictures...but I'll try.

 But, videos will probably show it best. (Don't worry they're all really short!)

After the parade, I marveled at the temple completely covered in bright glowing lanterns. I was also able to get a closer look at the parade floats and the lanterns.

And then there was the after party!

The following day the festival was in full force! There were countless Buddha-related craft tables! I literally wanted to stay there all day making things, but unfortunately the bus for my town leaves way too early. I did get the chance to make a paper lotus flower, a charcoal rub picture, and a happiness charm. There was also lantern making, prayer beads, necklaces, wishing fans, clay Buddhas, places to try meditation, sample temple food, and have monks bless your wishes. So many fascinating booths/displays about Buddhism to explore as well as monks from several countries such as Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand, Nepal, India, etc. So interesting!

 

I absolutely loved this festival! Probably my favorite so far! An unbelievable weekend I will never forget!