Celebrate! OCTOBER

HANGUL NAL

Some Korean characters

Hangul Nal (Korean Alphabet Day) is celebrated each year on October 9th. It commemorates the publication of the Korean national alphabet, which was invented in 1443 and published in 1446 by King Sejong (Yi dynasty), and a group of scholars that he entrusted with this task (the"Institute of Correct Sounds").

The Hangul alphabet is simple and efficient, being systematically designed, unlike most alphabets that were largely based upon previous works. This day became a legal holiday (but not national) in 1960. However, its legal status was removed in 1991 due to pressure from major employers to increase the number of working days.

Korean store front

Festival days in the countryside follow a traditional custom: twelve days of events including parades, sporting contests, folk games, and traditional musical performances. The festival brings crowds from all over the country.

HALLOWEEN

Kids dressed up in costumes

Halloween is celebrated each year on the last day of October. The word itself, "Halloween," has its origins in the Catholic Church. It comes from a contraction of "All Hallows Eve", which is also called "All Saint's Day" and is celebrated on November 1. That day is a Catholic day of observance in honor of saints and remembrance of all dead people. In the fifth century BC, in Celtic Ireland, summer officially ended on October 31 and was called Samhain (sow-en), the Celtic New year.

The main part of the celebration involves children (and many adults, who accompany them) dressing up as evil creatures, spirits, and popular icons. They then travel from house to house, knocking on doors and begging for candy with the expression "Trick or Treat". While that expression seems largely harmless now, it was originally said as a sort of blackmail: give us "treats" or we will "trick" you, with the "tricks" usually being some mischief being performed upon the miserly house occupant.

House front, with Jack-o-lanterns

This idea of dressing up goes back to the idea that on this evening, spirits were able to cross over from their world into ours. To prevent possession by these spirits, people would dress up in ghoulish costumes and travel the neighborhood, making as much noise and destruction as they could to drive away these spirits. Irish immigrants fleeing their country's potato famine brought over this custom of Halloween to America in the 1840's. Other traditional parts of Halloween include carving pumpkins ("Jack-o-lanterns"), bobbing for apples, telling ghost stories, and numerous attempts to scare friends.