{"id":6458,"date":"2020-01-11T13:27:40","date_gmt":"2020-01-11T18:27:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/korean\/?p=6458"},"modified":"2020-01-11T13:27:40","modified_gmt":"2020-01-11T18:27:40","slug":"how-koreans-celebrate-christmas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/korean\/how-koreans-celebrate-christmas\/","title":{"rendered":"How Koreans Celebrate Christmas"},"content":{"rendered":"

I personally have a couple of family members\u2019 birthdays around Christmas, including mine. Ever since I moved to the USA, I sometimes feel my birthdays get neglected under holiday seasons. Although it wasn\u2019t a big deal when I lived in Korea because Koreans celebrate Christmas in a different way.<\/p>\n

\uc131\ud0c4\uc808 (seong-tan-jeol<\/strong>: Christmas) is a \uacf5\ud734\uc77c (kong-hue-eel<\/strong> :public holiday) in Korea despite only less than 40% of Koreas identifying as \uae30\ub3c5\uad50\uc778 (ki-dok-kyo-in<\/strong>: Christians). \u00a0The word of \uc131\ud0c4\uc808 is made of Chinese characters and it means a holiday to celebrate the day when Jesus was born. It is very common to see phrases such as \uba54\ub9ac <\/strong>\ud06c\ub9ac\uc2a4\ub9c8\uc2a4 (Merry Christmas<\/strong>), which is often written in Korean as well as in English, around Christmas time. You feel in the festive spirit listening to Christmas carols and seeing the streets full of people walking around big Christmas trees full of lights.<\/p>\n

\uae30\ub3c5\uad50\uc778 in Korea may celebrate Christmas by attending church services, putting more emphasis on the religious aspects around Christmas season. However, most Koreans celebrate Christmas a little differently from the western countries. For instance, Christmas is the time that families gather, cook together, and open Christmas gifts under the trees in America. Most Korean families may go out for dinner, but the whole family wouldn\u2019t travel miles and miles for Christmas. Some Koreans celebrate Christmas by spending time with their \uc5f0\uc778 (yeon-in<\/strong>: a lover) or \uce5c\uad6c\ub4e4 (chin-goo-dul<\/strong>: friends). People usually go to movies on Christmas days or to concerts.<\/p>\n

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Since Christmas is a week prior to the \uc2e0\uc815 (shin-jeong<\/strong>: New Year\u2019s Day), you would likely be invited to many social parties, like \uc1a1\ub144\ud68c (song-nyun-hoe<\/strong>: year-end party) from work or school. Some people enjoy great shopping deals around the Christmas time. Nowadays, some Koreans even plan to travel abroad around Christmas time.<\/p>\n

Christmas was one of my favorite holidays because I used to get Christmas \uc120\ubb3c (seon-mool:<\/strong> presents) from my parents. Most Korean kids get \uc120\ubb3c from their parents, and even adults may exchange gifts around Christmas Day, but opening gifts with pajamas on while sitting under the tree is not a tradition in Korea. Most Koreans don\u2019t get real trees for Christmas either. Koreans usually put up some plastic Christmas tree at home.<\/p>\n

I spent a quiet Christmas this year, but it was peaceful enough to contemplate the real meaning of Christmas.<\/p>\n

What do you think about Korean Christmas? What was your celebration like this year?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

I personally have a couple of family members\u2019 birthdays around Christmas, including mine. Ever since I moved to the USA, I sometimes feel my birthdays get neglected under holiday seasons. Although it wasn\u2019t a big deal when I lived in Korea because Koreans celebrate Christmas in a different way. \uc131\ud0c4\uc808 (seong-tan-jeol: Christmas) is a \uacf5\ud734\uc77c…<\/p>\n

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