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By Popular Hong Kong’s Human Resources and Administration Department 文:香港大众人力资源与行政部 New Year Customs Across Asia 辞旧迎新: 亚洲三地过年习俗 Our colleagues in Popular Hong Kong lead us across Asia to explore unqiue New Year customs. 香港大众同仁带领大家一探不同区域的特有过年习俗。 The COVID-19 pandemic has stopped everyone from experiencing the joy of travel for over a year now. In the blink of an eye, it is the Lunar New Year (LNY) once again. Let us “travel abroad” together and learn more about the festival in three popular Asian travel destinations. The Solemn Customs of South Korea In South Korea, the LNY and the Mid- Autumn Festival are equally important festivals, both of which being three-day public holidays. On the first day of the new year, each household in South Korea prepares a table of offerings for their ancestors. South Korean customs are generally more solemn. Donning the traditional hanbok, the younger generations will perform a deep bow when offering their New Year’s greetings to their elders. Similar to Hong Kong, the elders will offer their well wishes and give the younger ones New Year’s money, sebaet don. Unlike the red packets used in Hong Kong, a white envelope is used, as white is an auspicious colour in South Korea. The amount of money given will depend on the recipient’s age. Besides gathering together to enjoy a feast, the South Korean families will also play traditional folk games such as yut nori, kite-flying (yeonnalligi), pitch-pot, and jegichagi, derived from the Chinese game of jianzi. Welcoming good luck, these games symbolise how it is out with the old and in with the new. The simplicity of these games makes it easy for everyone to take part. Rice cakes and pancakes are a typical fixture of the LNY in South Korea. The white rice cakes of the tteokguk dish symbolise good character and longevity. The savoury jeon pancakes carry a similar significance to eating meat in Hong Kong during festivals; because cooking oil was expensive in an earlier part of South Korea’s history, more expensive ingredients could only be afforded during important festivals. Songkran in Thailand Thailand’s New Year festival is called Songkran, celebrated from 13 to 15 April annually. A festival of great importance, the Thais will put down their work to participate in the water festival to offer each other blessings. The Thais are predominantly Buddhists, and water represents purification 133 popularnews - 39