From olden times, the Korean ancestors have created and carried forward several customs suited to the warm seasonal features of April.
The seasonal divisions of April include chongmyong and kogu.
Chongmyong literally means the beginning of clear bright spring weather.
When chongmyong was approaching, our people cleared out all the traces of winter, and sowed various kinds of flower seeds in the garden and planted fruit trees around the house. In the countryside, they soaked rice seeds in water to sow them in the seedbed before chongmyong. They usually started spring sowing that day.
On the occasion of chongmyong, our people visited or moved the tombs of their ancestors.
Typical dishes for the day are steamed wheat flour cake, shredded green gram paste and seasoned edible herbs such as bracken, fern, aralia shoots and anise.
Chongmyong usually falls between April 4 and 6.
Kogu means the time when the rain useful for the growth of crops falls.
Our people were busy with farming at this time since it was an important period governing the successful farming of the year. On the day of kogu they sowed seeds of rice, foxtail millet, sweet potato, sesame, etc.
In the period around chongmyong and kogu, our people played several folk games and did fishing in rivers and seas.
Kogu falls around April 20 according to the solar calendar.
As mentioned above, the Korean people have created and carried forward several customs suited to the seasonal features of April from long ago.
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