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📅 holiday

Seollal Holiday

Saturday, February 6, 2027

— days to go

Seollal, or Korean Lunar New Year, is a major holiday in the lives of South Koreans. Seollal comes in January or February and involves family visits, ancestral rites, eating of traditional foods and playing of Korean games. Seollal is based on the lunar calendar and so varies from year to year on the Gregorian Calendar. And the wonderful thing about Lunar New Year is that it lasts for three days, not just one! The emphasis of Seollal is paying your respects to your ancestors and spending time with living family members. After performing traditional rites to honour the dead, South Koreans spend the rest of the day with the living. This means talking for hours on end, eating, telling stories all night, and playing folk games. Many will visit their ancestral home towns to take part in Seollal activities, so this can be a busy time of year for travel. It takes time to prepare for the trip, and the food too takes a lot of preparation time. There are special articles of clothing to wear for Seollal during the rites, and special foods to be eaten at designated times.

History

Seollal, or Korean Lunar New Year, is a major holiday in the lives of South Koreans. Seollal comes in January or February and involves family visits, ancestral rites, eating of traditional foods and playing of Korean games. Seollal is based on the lunar calendar and so varies from year to year on the Gregorian Calendar. And the wonderful thing about Lunar New Year is that it lasts for three days, not just one. After performing traditional rites to honour the dead, South Koreans spend the rest of

How It's Celebrated

Seollal, or Korean Lunar New Year, is a major holiday in the lives of South Koreans. Seollal comes in January or February and involves family visits, ancestral rites, eating of traditional foods and playing of Korean games. The emphasis of Seollal is paying your respects to your ancestors and spendi

Other Years

2026 Mon to Wed
16 Feb to 18 Feb
2027 Sat
6 Feb
2028 Wed to Thu
26 Jan to 27 Jan
2025 Tue to Thu
28 Jan to 30 Jan
2024 Fri to Sun
9 Feb to 11 Feb

Countries

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Saint Andrew’s Day is celebrated every 30 November in Scotland. The day celebrates the Feast of Saint Andrew and is also considered Scotland’s National Day. In 2026, Saint Andrew's Day falls on Monday 30 November. The holiday will be on Tuesday 30 November in 2027. *Please refer to this note for Scotland-specific information. This patron saint day was declared a bank holiday in 2006 by the Scottish Parliament although banks are not required to close if they do not wish to. If 30 November occurs on a weekend, the bank holiday is moved to the following Monday. Saint Andrew is notable in that he was one of the original twelve disciples of Jesus Christ and was also the brother of Saint Peter. Before following Jesus, Andrew was a fisherman. He was born at Bethsaida on the Sea of Galilee. The main colour you will see in Scotland on Saint Andrew’s Day is the white diagonal cross on blue background of the Scottish flag – the Saltire. This is the Saint Andrew’s cross, and represents the shape of the cross on which Saint Andrew was said to have been crucified. The history of the Scottish link to Saint Andrew goes back as far as 832AD when Óengus II promised God that if the Scots and Picts were victorious in battle against the Angles he would make Saint Andrew the patron saint of Scotland. And they were. Saint Andrew’s Day’s amazing menus include cullen skink (haddock and potato soup), highland venison casseroles, potted hough (shin) with mustard sauce and Scottish tablet (a very sweet treat). Events around Scotland include flag ceremonies, the Shindig in George Square of Glasgow that features live music, and local celebrations in the town of Saint Andrews in the Kingdom of Fife. There is also free entry to many of Scotland’s castles and attractions on the day. Scotland has a free Saint Andrew’s Day app available for iPhone and Android with Scottish and worldwide events, menu ideas and much more.

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