The 24 seasonal divisions and folklore customs of November
In November, we have ripdong and sosol. Ripdong means the beginning of winter and it falls on the 7th or 8th of November by solar calendar.
Sosol is the period when it starts to snow and it falls on the 22nd or 23rd of November by solar calendar.
In these days, it is peculiar to our people’s dietary life to make kimchi for winter and steam soybeans for making soybean paste for next spring.
From olden times, people do not spare themselves to make kimchi saying that kimchi is like winter food. Its ingredients and recipes are different by regions.
During kimchi-making period, people made tongchimi (radishes pickled in salt water), possam kimchi (wrapped-up kimchi) and leaf-mustard kimchi as well as the whole cabbage kimchi whose flavour and odour are different at every region.
Several housewives patrol their houses to make kimchi together and regard it as a morality to help the neighbours to their kimchi first.
Steaming soybeans for making soybean paste for next spring is also a custom of remote antiquity.
In the past, people prepared for the coming winter, repapering doors and windows, repairing hypocaust and cowsheds and so on, which was the testimony of the clean, meticulous and diligent life of them.
During these days, several folk games like yut, paduk and Korean chess and chilgyo were played indoors and kite-flying and shuttlecock games were enjoyed by children.
