Dong-Ji, the longest night and the shortest day of the year

Dong-Ji is the longest night and the shortest day of the year, and the 22nd of the 24 divisions of the year in the lunar calendar. Dong-Ji is between Daeseol (大雪) and Sohan (小寒) on December 22 or 23 when the sun passes through the same spot. The winter solstice is considered to be the beginning of a year, as the positive energy is created in the area with the vitality of sound. Also, in Chinese tradition, the reference point for calculating the lunar calendar is Dong-Ji.

On Dong-Ji people eat red bean porridge. The red beans are made into paste, and glutinous rice is shaped into a lump and boiled. The lumps are called bird eggs because that shape is the size of a bird egg. When the red bean porridge is finished, it is placed in the holy place of the house first, and later when the red bean porridge is cold, the family gets together and eats. It was God's will to raise it to the shrine, and it was believed that this would drive out all evil spirits from home.

Red bean porridge is chosen because the red color was thought to be effective in exorcising evil spirits. As such, red bean paste has been used to chase away all the bad spirits, believing that it has the power of the temple. According to Dongguk Sesigi, Mr. Gong gong had a stupid son and after the son died, the son became an evil spirit. But people make red bean porridge to ward off the evil spirit because he hated red bean porridge. Spraying red bean porridge on a gate or wall near a door is also a form of natural magic to ward off evil spirits.

However, if DongJi falls within the 10th day of the lunar calendar, people do not make red bean porridge because it is bad for children. Furthermore, if one of the family members dies of a mysterious illness, they will not eat red bean porridge.

There are various stories about Dong-Ji and red bean porridge. However, not only is it easy to eat red bean porridge on Dong-Ji in the busy modern life, but there are few people who remember the stories correctly. After reading this article, I hope you will learn about Dong-Ji and celebrate it by eating red bean porridge. Dong-Ji comes on December 22.

▲Red bean porridge/ Source: NAVER