According to the Lunar calendar, the year 2025 is the year of the snake. Photo credit: Gettyimages
In the Republic of Korea, one of the most important traditional Korean holidays is the Lunar New Year. It is known as Seollal (설날) in Korea. Seollal or Korean Lunar New Year is a holiday and celebration which marks the first day of the Korean Lunar Calendar. The holiday takes place over several days. In 2025, Seollal falls on Jan. 29. Traditionally, families gather from all over Korea at the house of their oldest male family to pay their respects to both ancestors and elders. The centerpiece of the holiday is the ritual of ancestor worship, however, there are other activities including eating traditional foods together, playing traditional folk games, Sebae where children and students bow to their elders and receive small gifts of money and other traditional activities. It is a time when Korea’s timeless heritage coincides with the country’s modern life.
When I was in Korea as an E-9 visa holder. I along with other workers received the bonus, gifts from the company and the long vacation time I used to visit friends, places, organized some programs accompanied by the Nepali artists by hiring them from Nepal collaborating with the Nepali and Korean organizations.
Nepalese men display the advertisement posture for the Seollal program at a restaurant in Dec. 2016, in Busan, Korea.
Photo by Bishal Rai.
With the Migrant Trade Union president Mr. Uday Rai at a Seollal program in Jan. 2017, in Busan, Korea.
Photo by Bishal Rai
Seollal in Comparison to other Asian Lunar New Years
The Lunar New Year is celebrated in countries across Asia. Each country has its own way of celebrating the event. Korean Lunar New Year also has its own unique customs and tradition. Seollal shares similarities with Lunar New Year celebrations in other Asian countries, such as Chinese, Vietnamese, Malaysian, Thailand, Bhutan, Laos, Singapore and Mongolian New Year festivities where Buddhism practitioners are concentrated. It takes on different names and recognizes it in their own ways. While the essence of marking a new lunar cycle is shared, each culture brings its unique customs, foods, and symbols to the celebrations.
In Nepal, Sonam Lhochhar or Losar is commemorated by the Tamang community. One of the indigenous group's of Nepal with their language being the 5th most spoken in Nepal. They recognize 12 different years and represent these years as the year of the Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Eagle, Snake, Horse, Goat/Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Boar. These 12 years also have been found to represent the 12 signs of the horoscopes as well. According to the Tamang community, the year 2025 is the year of the snake. The Tamang community celebrates this year with the festival of Sonam Losar, which is their new year.
It is believed that this system of representation of the years traces its roots to China where the new year is also named after different animals. Only sharing an origin with the Chinese new year however, this new year is celebrated by the Tamang community in their own unique style. It is a national holiday of Nepal and Tamang people send their well wishes to the community as well as all over the world.
Nepal's Tamang community women pose for a photoshoot for the Sonam Losar program in 2024 in Kathmandu, Nepal.
Photo credit: Setopati Khabar
These variations highlight the rich cultural diversity in Asia and the shared reverence for tradition and family unity across the region.
According to the Lunar calendar, the year 2025 is the year of the snake. Photo credit: Gettyimages
In the Republic of Korea, one of the most important traditional Korean holidays is the Lunar New Year. It is known as Seollal (설날) in Korea. Seollal or Korean Lunar New Year is a holiday and celebration which marks the first day of the Korean Lunar Calendar. The holiday takes place over several days. In 2025, Seollal falls on Jan. 29. Traditionally, families gather from all over Korea at the house of their oldest male family to pay their respects to both ancestors and elders. The centerpiece of the holiday is the ritual of ancestor worship, however, there are other activities including eating traditional foods together, playing traditional folk games, Sebae where children and students bow to their elders and receive small gifts of money and other traditional activities. It is a time when Korea’s timeless heritage coincides with the country’s modern life.
When I was in Korea as an E-9 visa holder. I along with other workers received the bonus, gifts from the company and the long vacation time I used to visit friends, places, organized some programs accompanied by the Nepali artists by hiring them from Nepal collaborating with the Nepali and Korean organizations.
Nepalese men display the advertisement posture for the Seollal program at a restaurant in Dec. 2016, in Busan, Korea.
Photo by Bishal Rai.
With the Migrant Trade Union president Mr. Uday Rai at a Seollal program in Jan. 2017, in Busan, Korea.
Photo by Bishal Rai
Seollal in Comparison to other Asian Lunar New Years
The Lunar New Year is celebrated in countries across Asia. Each country has its own way of celebrating the event. Korean Lunar New Year also has its own unique customs and tradition. Seollal shares similarities with Lunar New Year celebrations in other Asian countries, such as Chinese, Vietnamese, Malaysian, Thailand, Bhutan, Laos, Singapore and Mongolian New Year festivities where Buddhism practitioners are concentrated. It takes on different names and recognizes it in their own ways. While the essence of marking a new lunar cycle is shared, each culture brings its unique customs, foods, and symbols to the celebrations.
In Nepal, Sonam Lhochhar or Losar is commemorated by the Tamang community. One of the indigenous group's of Nepal with their language being the 5th most spoken in Nepal. They recognize 12 different years and represent these years as the year of the Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Eagle, Snake, Horse, Goat/Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Boar. These 12 years also have been found to represent the 12 signs of the horoscopes as well. According to the Tamang community, the year 2025 is the year of the snake. The Tamang community celebrates this year with the festival of Sonam Losar, which is their new year.
It is believed that this system of representation of the years traces its roots to China where the new year is also named after different animals. Only sharing an origin with the Chinese new year however, this new year is celebrated by the Tamang community in their own unique style. It is a national holiday of Nepal and Tamang people send their well wishes to the community as well as all over the world.
Nepal's Tamang community women pose for a photoshoot for the Sonam Losar program in 2024 in Kathmandu, Nepal.
Photo credit: Setopati Khabar
These variations highlight the rich cultural diversity in Asia and the shared reverence for tradition and family unity across the region.