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The Chilseok is a Korean traditional festival which falls on every July 7 by the lunar calendar. It literally means the 7th night (of the 7th month) and is derived from the Chinese festival, Qi Xi. Chilseok is a period where the heat starts to pass away and the monsoon season begins. The rain that falls during this period is called Chilseok water. As pumpkins, cucumbers, and melons start to flourish during this period, people used to offer a pumpkin fry to the Great Dipper.
[edit] The Story of Chilseok
All Koreans know the story about Chilseok. According to the story, the heavenly king had a daughter called Jiknyeo. She was very good at weaving clothes. One day when she looked out of the window while weaving, she saw a handsome boy called Gyeonwu just across the Milky Way. She fell in love with him. Finally the heavenly father allowed the two to get married. After the two married, they didn't work. Jiknyeo didn't want to weave clothes, and Gyeonwu didn't take good care of the cows and sheep. The king got angry, and ordered that the couple should live apart from each other, and they could meet each other only once in a year- on July 7. In that sense the lunar July 7 is Korean Valentine's day. On July 7 every year, they were excited to meet each other, but they couldn't cross the Milky Way. Then crows and magpies got together to make a bridge for the couple, and they could hug each other. After they spent a little while, they got sad again because they had to wait for another meeting one year later. They say that crows and magpies have no feathers on their heads because the couple stepped on their heads. And people say that it rains on the night of July 7 because the couple feel very sad, and cry when they leave.
[edit] Chilseok Customs
On Chilseok, Koreans used to take baths because they believed that they could live a healthy life if they did that. In addition, it is tradition to eat wheat-flour noodles and grilled wheat cake. Chilseok is known as the last period to have a chance of enjoying wheat based foods, since the cold winds after Chilseok ruin the good scent of wheat. Therefore these dishes are a must for the dinner table. People also used to eat wheat pancake called milijeonbyeong (밀전병), and sirutteok which is a steamed rice cake covered with azuki beans.
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