By Manal Abdel Fattah
The Korean Cultural Center organized the “Welcome Korea” event, which aims to introduce Korean customs and culture, for the third time this year.
A group of honorary correspondents for the “Korea Donate Net” website affiliated with the Korean Ministry of Culture and a number of cultural influencers participated in the event, which aimed to introduce the Hansik holiday (cold food).
Historically, the name Hansik, one of the four most important holidays in Korea, was derived from the tradition of not using fire while preparing food, in which the warm weather that melts frozen lands is celebrated.
During the holiday, which falls on the 105th day of the beginning of the winter season, Koreans dig up and clean the graves of their ancestors, and eat cold foods.
Hansik also marks the beginning of the planting season, and therefore the best time to plant trees.
During the event organized by the center, participants learned about the history of Hansik celebration, dressed in traditional Korean clothing, and ate Korean food.
For his part, Oh Sung Ho, Director of the Korean Cultural Center, said that the majority of Korean holidays are related to agricultural and harvesting practices in ancient Korea, noting that the celebration of Hansik Day is, in essence, very similar to the celebration of Sham El Nessim in Egypt.
