Every New Year's Day, my family gets together and eats dduk guk (rice cake soup). It is believed that by eating one bowl of the soup on the first day of the new year, a year of life is gained.
Dduk guk is one of my favorite Korean soups. It is definitely comfort food for me. If you're wondering what the dark, greenish ingredient is in the soup, it's laver (seaweed). Yum!
Another tradition that we celebrate on New Year's is bowing to parents and elders. Girls get dressed in traditional Korean garbs called hanboks. The dresses tend to be quite colorful and ornate, and I've never seen two alike in our family.
As children bow to their elders (basically anyone older than them) and give well wishes for the new year, the family members in return reward them with money. It's a tradition that the young and old look forward to in our family.
Happy New Year!
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