Orini-nal (children's day)

May 5th is a national holiday in S. Korea, a day of celebration for children called Urini-nal. Parents give gifts to their children, and I guess they also get gifts from any store they visit while out celebrating. Some cities have parades and public activities. Museums, zoos, amusement parks, and movie theaters are said to offer free admission to children.

Traditional foods such as kimchi, bulgogi, and shell fish play an important part on this holiday. From what I read, in earlier times Koreans spent the day in restful celebration wearing their finest clothes and playing an indoor game such as Yut.

Surely some places were crowded with families enjoying the holiday in the spring weather, but not here in our small town, where it rained the whole day. The rain was, however, a nice break from the hot temperatures- as high as 85- we've been having for a few days now.