(320) Dongji - preparation for New Year

By Janet Shin

Dongji, or winter solstice, usually falls on December 21, 22 or 23 every year. It was on the 22nd this year. A special holiday on the ancient agrarian calendar system of jeolgi, the day has been considered a small new year’s day and greatly celebrated. While people conventionally regard it as a day of eating red bean soup to expel evil spirits, it has more significance than you might think.

As jeolgi have been used to mark time in Far Eastern countries since ancient times, many people presume it would be based on the lunar calendar. But it actually relates to both the lunar and solar calendars, denoting that it is associated with the activities and circulation of the sun and moon.

Regarding the concept that Dongji is a small new year’s day, this belief has its roots in Yijing, the book of changes. Yi represents not only ‘changes,’ but ‘easy.’ The notion of change is about the alternation of the sun and moon or day and night and the cycle of the seasons of the year.

The eight trigrams, created by Chinese mythological figure Fuxi, consist of three stacked lines of yao, either broken (yin) or unbroken (yang), which are then developed into 64 hexagrams. Among them, 12 gua are allocated to each lunar month as below. These are actually allotted to micro and macro time frames to explain the greater transition of the universe.

While the generally known calendar starts with January, the Korean calendar starts with the month of Ja in the beginning. Ja is November of the lunar calendar. If we take this into consideration that Dongji has the shortest day and the longest night of the year, and that from that day on the day gradually lengthens, the Korean calendar has its significance in terms of astronomical conversion.

As you can see, one yang yao grows from Dongji and accumulates its energy one by one as it moves through the months to reach the whole six yang lines in April (May of the solar calendar). Then, Haji, or summer solstice falls on or around June 21 (May in the lunar calendar). From the month of May, the yin yao starts to pile up its energy and reaches its peak in October, the month of Hae. Since they believed that the day of Dongji revitalizes the life force and brightness of hope, they regarded the month of Ja as the beginning of the year. This is also associated with the observation of the Christmas holiday in Western culture and the Mayan calendar, which ends on December 21 of 2012.

On the basis of these astronomical and philosophical fundamentals, there are many important customs being carried out other than just eating red bean soup on Dongji. Guansangam, appertained to the office of Rites, which had jurisdiction over astronomy, geography, the almanac and meteorology during the Joseon kingdom (1392~9100), and made the new year’s calendar and rendered tribute to the royal palace. Considering that farming is such an important matter for the nation, the contents and usefulness of the calendar must have been greatly appreciated.

Red beans are commonly believed to drive out harmful energy, as red is the color of yang and highly efficient in removing the opposite yin energy. Meantime, people also made Dongji talismans to dispel poisonous energy and promote good luck. Dongji is one of the most important divisions of the year to see the old year out and the New Year’s animated energy in. It is appropriate time to read saju to forecast what will happen in the coming year. For those who have experienced misfortune in the last year, Dongji may imply an environmental change from negative to positive.

For further information, visit Janet’s website at

www.fourpillarskorea.com, contact her at

010-5414-7461 or email

janetshin@hotmail.com. The writer is the author

of “Life’s Secrets.”