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The Gregorian Calendar was officially adopted in 1895, but traditional holidays and age-reckoning are still based on the old calendar.http://www.koreainfogate.com/aboutkorea/item.asp?src=menu01_03 http://www.lifeinkorea.com/Calendar/holidays.cfm

The biggest festival in Korea today is Seollal (the traditional Korean New Year ). Other important festivals include Daeboreum (the first full moon), Dano (spring festival) and Chuseok (harvest festival).


FEATURES

  • The Chinese Zodiac of 12 Earthly Branches (animals), which were used for counting hours and years;

  • Ten Heavenly Stems , which were combined with the 12 Earthly Branches to form a sixty-year cycle;

  • Twenty-four Solar Term s (''jeolgi'' 節氣 절기) in the year, spaced roughly 15 days apart;

  • Lunar months including leap months added every two or three years.



HISTORY

The traditional calendar designated its years via Korean Era Name s from 270 to 963. Then Chinese Era Name s were used until 1895 when the official use of the lunar calendar ceased.

As a result of the First Sino-Japanese War in 1894–95, Korea's tributary relationship with China ended. The Gregorian Calendar was adopted by the new Korean Empire on 1 January 1895 , but with years numbered from the foundation of the Joseon Dynasty in 1393. From 1897, Korean era names were used for its years until Japan Annexed Korea in 1910. Then Japanese Era Name s were used to count the years of the Gregorian calendar used in Korea until Japanese occupation ended in 1945.

From 1945 until 1961 in South Korea , Gregorian calendar years were counted from the foundation of Gojoseon in 2333 BCE (regarded as year one), the date of the legendary founding of Korea by Dangun , hence these Dangi (단기) years were 4285 to 4294. This numbering was informally used with the Korean lunar calendar before 1945 but is only occasionally used today.


FESTIVALS

The lunar calendar is used for the observation of traditional festivals, such as Korean New Year , Chuseok , and Buddha's Birthday . It is also used for Jesa memorial services for ancestors and the marking of birthdays by older Koreans.


Traditional holidays

There is also a number of regional festivals, celebrated according to the lunar calendar. See also Public Holidays In North Korea and Public Holidays In South Korea .


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