The 24 seasonal divisions and folklore customs of April
From olden times our people have created and inherited various folklore customs in conformity with seasonal characteristics of warm April.
The 24 divisions of the year fall on April are Chongmyong and Koku.
Chongmyong means that it is the period of when the sky is getting cleared and it falls on between 4th-6th of April.
What important in our people’s customs on this day is to visit their ancestor's grave. People who visited their ancestor’s grave on this day arranged the mound and its surroundings, made sacrifices and enjoyed various traditional foods.
Typical foods in Chongmyong day are the steamed rice cake, dish made of green gram paste and edible herbs dishes made of brake, fern, aralia shoots, anise and the like.
On the other hand our people repaired their houses including thatching and rearrangement of fences.
Koku (the rainfall for seeding) means that it is the period when the beneficial rain for the growth of cereals falls and it comes on 20th or 21st of April.
There is a proverb “Drought in Koku period will lead a metre of soil to be dried out”. This proverb clearly shows that in the past people regarded the rainfall in Koku period as of great importance.
People started sowing of crops such as rice, millet, sweet potato and sesame in this period.
Our people spent busy days with farming as it is the important period that affects success of that year’s harvest.
During Chongmyong and Koku periods, our people went fishing by rivers and sea. In particular, the residents around Taedong River caught many species of fishes such as mullet, carp and cornet fish.
Like this, since olden times our people created and succeeded various kinds of folklore customs suitable for the seasonal characteristics of April.
