Crunchy Hello-O-Weeen!

One of the things I fantasized about American culture was definitely Halloween: children in their cute costumes walking door to door, shouting “trick or treat!” and collecting bags of candies that would last for a year. In my first year in the States, my aunt and uncle were reluctant toward my participation in trick or treating because of my Christian belief. Also, I was in eighth grade by that time and they thought I was too “old” for such a “baby thing.” When my friends wore their costumes going door to door, I pretended that I was “too cool and mature” to join the crowd. Actually, I was secretly jealous.

In Korea, I never celebrated Halloween. Koreans have two annual –not like as big as national holiday- rituals throughout the year that are based on the similar concept of Halloween. One is Jung Wall Dae Bo Rum, or sometimes interpreted as the Full Moon Festival, and the other one is Dongji. The full moon festival is around November, and Koreans eat nuts and peanuts on that day. In our tradition, the cracking sound of nutshell is believed to scare bad spirits away and bring fortune and health. Dongji is usually around the end of December; it is a day when the duration of night is the longest throughout the year. As a celebration, Koreans eat sweet red bean soup, Patjook, which has the brownish red color that is –again– believed to scare off the bad spirits.

After I came to the states, I could not find Patjook easily. The cooking process was rather time-consuming and the ingredients were hard to find.  Also, it was so difficult to figure out the exact dates for those traditional rituals because they were changed every year according to the lunar calendar. I did not celebrate Halloween for a while. It was evident that I could never join the march of children for trick or treating anymore.  However, I’m thinking about giving out almond chocolate and Crunch to my friends next year to introduce them about my Korean culture. Want some Crunch, guys?