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| Gift sets galore! |
This weekend, families all over Korea are preparing for the upcoming Chuseok (추석) holiday, or Korean Thanksgiving Day. Chuseok is celebrated according to the lunar calendar, falling on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month and this year Chuseok will take place on September 30th. Families will travel to their hometowns to give thanks to their parents and the spirits of their ancestors and celebrate the fall harvest with a bounty of food and fun.
Gift-giving is a big part of the celebration, and so the popularity of gift
sets rises at this time of year. Food sets, ranging from cooking oil to tinned
goods such as Spam are popular since they remind the recipient to eat well
during this holiday of plenty. Other practical gifts such as toothpaste or shampoo
sets are also popular. Regardless of the contents, each gift set comes
attractively packed in a cardboard box encased in a matching gift bag. If
you're lucky enough to receive a gift set (or ten!) you may be wondering what
to do with all of that extra packaging and where to seat the guests who've come
to your home bearing these lovely gifts.
