[Korean Culture & Language] Anyone can prepare for 제사 in the new year


 Hello, this is Uptempo Marketers!


송구영신 means to ‘leave the old days behind and embrace the new year’. ‘예배’ means ‘service’. So, 송구영신 예배 is a church service held to mark the end of the old years and celebrate the beginning of the new one.

근하신년

Even though many Koreans say ‘새해 복 많이 받으세요 (Wishing you the best of luck in the new year),’ you might see ‘근하신년’ on the cards or banners towards the end or beginning of the year. ‘근하신년’ also means ‘happy new year,’ but it is originally used in the Japanese ‘연하장 (cards sent in the new year)’. 


source: https://ko.wikipedia.org/



Every year, millions of people make New Year’s resolutions, but studies have shown that only a small percentage of people keep them. One of the most common reasons people fail to follow their resolutions is that they aren’t clear enough. Setting too wide, too big, or too many objectives are also common mistakes people make.

There is an idiom in Korea ’새해 못 할 제사 있으랴,’ which means ‘There wouldn’t be a 제사 that one can’t perform in the new year’. ‘새해’ means ‘new year,’ and ‘제사’ is a ‘traditional ceremonial that serves as a monument to the participants’ ancestors’. It is traditionally celebrated on the ancestor’s death anniversary, and the family prepares a variety of foods, especially those that the dead used to enjoy.

Many Koreans today no longer practice it because it is too much work to prepare all the food. However, it is easier to perform ‘제사’ during the ‘설날 (Korean new year),’ because neighbors make a lot of food and usually share it.

‘새해 못 할 제사 있으랴’ means ‘Anyone can prepare for 제사 in the new year’. The expression is used sarcastically to say ‘Anyone can say that they’ll do better next time’.

How well do you keep your new year’s resolutions?




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