It's meaning and duties

   

Chuseok is a holiday where family members from near and far come together to share food, stories, and to give thanks to their ancestors for the abundant harvest. Chuseok is referred sometimes as the "Korean Thanksgiving". Originally known as "Hangawi", "Han" which means "Big" and "Gawi" which means "the ides of Autumn". It is celebrated when the full moon is at its brightest which occurs on the 15th day of the 8th month on the lunar calendar which falls between September to early October on the solar calendar.

   

   To celebrate the successful year, families will pack up and head home to their ancestral hometowns, usually to the home of their elders or the head of the household which are the grandparents or parents. This practice is called "Bon-ga" it basically means "main house".

   Chuseok is not just a celebration of feasts, there are three major duties that must be done during the first day of the holiday, these duties are Charye, Bulcho, and Sungmyo. Charye  is one of the ancestral memorial rites that have been done for thousands of years in Korea. It is done in the morning of Chuseok, and the family hold a memorial service for their ancestors. The meaning of Charye is "to return the favors and honor them". It is due to a belief that Koreans do not believe that a person is really dead when they physically die. They believe their spirits are still alive and protect the descendants, so they honor their ancestors by preparing special foods for them. Sungmyo and Bulcho are also done around the Chuseok week. Sungmyo is a visiting to the ancestral grave sites and Bulcho is the activity to remove and clean around the grave. It is to clean their ancestor's site.