Dongji- Winter Solstice

Have you heard of dongji?

It is the winter solstice. In Korea, the longest night of the year that will eventually lead to longer days is called dongji. This is the peak before the downward hill. This winter solstice will be on December 22, 2018. 

This will mark the longest night out of the year, or the shortest daylight of the year. From this day forward, the days will start to get a little longer, until we hit spring. 

A Korean tradition on this day is to enjoy a bowl of read bean porridge or in Korean patjuk.  Korean people eat patjuk to celebrate the beginning of a new year while also looking back on a year passed as they get older. 

In older traditions, people also believed that if you threw a little bit of red beans around the outside of your home, it would keep away any evil sprits! 

Although this is not a holiday or a hugely celebrated event, it is still a tradition that many people keep going. We hope you are able to eat some patjuk this dongji! 

Have a good one!