The date this is celebrated varies from area to area, but it is a festival for Korean (Chaoxian) people. There are Koreans living in the northeastern provinces (Jilin, Heilongjiang and Liaoning) as well as other places including Beijing. Those living in Jilin province speak Korean. However, those who have integrated with Han people speak Chinese and both groups share some of the same festivals. Purely Korean festivals are a baby’s first birthday, someone’s 60th birthday (the Huijia Festival) and a couple’s 60th wedding anniversary.
Respect for the elderly is deeply ingrained into Korean people, to the point where younger people cannot drink or smoke in front of them nor pass them in the street without a valid excuse. The word Huijia literally translates as ‘people over 60’ and this festival is one of the most important. The banquet held is grand, with everyone, including friends, relatives and neighbours, joining in to express children’s thanks to the elders for giving them life.
The festival is based on a legend which said that the king buried alive everyone over the age of 60. One man refused to let this happen and so hid his father to save his life. When the king, threatened with invasion of his country, desperately needed answers to three questions, it was the man’s father who provided them. From then on, people over 60 were revered and the old law was revoked.
This is a happy time for Koreans. Traditional food such as ‘spank cake’, dog meat and cold noodles are cooked; the person whose birthday happens to fall on this day is dressed up, have a big red flower on his chest and will be seated in pride of place, with everyone else either side of him. Wine is offered by kneeling younger relatives to show their reverence. Wrestling, dancing, swinging, etc all add to the atmosphere.
In Heilongjiang province, the 20th or 24th day of the sixth lunar month is the special day; in Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, the 15th of the eighth lunar month is preferred.
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