# 1 Main Title: The twelve zodiac animals in Korean customs

# 2 Opening: The Yut (traditional Korean board game) players throw their sticks into the air, and after they fall on to the board, the players move their tokens on the board. As a festive event for residents' entertainment, Yut Nori is in full swing. To describe the sticks' combination in the game, "do" means a pig, "gae", a dog, "geol", sheep, "yut", a cow, and "mo", a horse. In which forms do the zodiac animals appear in our life? Let's take a look at the role played by the twelve zodiac animals in the traditional festivals and seasonal customs of Korea.

# 3 Yeongsan Soemeori Daegi (Wooden Bull Fight of Yeongsan): Korean bullfighting, which is thought to have originated from the culture of grazing oxen, is prevalent in the southern region of Korea. In the fight of bulls tempered in nature, bulls are brought by their owners into a circular arena surrounded by a wooden fence, and the contest starts when two bulls start fighting by bringing their heads together to push each other. The bulls and the spectators become one, and the winner is decided when the bull whose strength goes first turns his head away. The Yeongsan Soemeori Daegi, which means the "Wooden Bullfight of Yeongsan", is a festive embodiment of the bullfight. It is traditionally said that this game originated from two nearby mountains – Yeongchwisan and Hambaksan - which are said to resemble two bulls confronting each other. It is said that the two mountains generated unlucky energy, so the Yeongsan Soemeori Daegi was started to draw such unlucky energy away from the mountains. The game starts around the beginning of the first month of the lunar calendar and reaches its peak on Daeboreum (the 15th day of the first month of the lunar calendar). For the game, the residents are divided into two teams – the East Team, which represents Yang energy (male), and the West Team, which represents Yin energy (female). As the generals leading the two teams brandish their swords, the many men in each team carry a wooden bull toward that of the other team. As the excitement reaches a peak with a performance by a farmers’ band, the wooden bulls contend for victory. Believing that the winning village will have a good harvest, people flock together to join the wooden bullfight and pray for a good harvest at the beginning of a new year.

# 4 Yongmul Dalgi (Prayer ritual for abundance of spring water): Among the many traditional rituals performed at traditional festivals, Yongmul Dalgi is a ceremony in which people pray for luck, wealth, and peace. Yongmul Dalgi, which literally means ‘the dragon emerges from a well," is a seasonal custom involving prayers for abundant spring water. This ritual, which is performed on Jeongwol Daeboreum (the 15th day of the new year according to the lunar calendar), is also an occasion to cheer people who have been working hard in the fields. During the game, the dragon, which was believed to be the deity that controlled water, an indispensable element of farming, was a symbol of a good harvest. Yongmul Dalgi reaches its peak with the performance of Daribalgi, in which people walk across bridges and pray for good health).

# 5 Yongyeonyabeom Festival: Yongyeon, or 'Dragon Pond,' is said to have been inhabited by a dragon. The Jeju Yongyeonyabeom Festival is held around this pond in Yongyeon amid the area's mysterious scenery. As the people of Jeju believed that this dragon was the bringer of rain, they dedicated a prayer ritual for rain during times of drought and a ritual for a big catch of fish to the dragon. The surrounding area, which is imbued with the mysterious dragon, is an attractive destination for those who have a taste for landscapes and the arts. Our ancestors used to appreciate the scenery while boating on the pond beneath the moonlight. Seasonal customs can be regarded as ways of appreciating life and nature.

# 6 The Twelve Zodiac Animals and Seasonal Customs: With the start of a new year, various seasonal customs relating to the zodiac animal of that year are observed.
Sangjail (High Rat Day) is the first day of the lunar year of the Rat. On Sangjail, people didn't read their fortunes (Jwabulmunjeom, 子不問占), and farmers performed Jwibul Nori (Rat fire game) by making fires at the edges of rice paddies and dry farming fields to eliminate rats.
Sangchukil (High Ox Day) is the first day of the Lunar New Year of the Ox. On Sahngchukil, or Sodalginal, people didn't do anything relating to wearing a crown and didn't get married (Chukbuldaegwan, 丑不帶冠), because it was believed that if you got married on this day, you would encounter ill fortune or have an unhappy marriage. People also allowed their cows to rest and fed them boiled fodder and beans to fatten them on this day.
Sanginil (High Tiger Day), or Beomnal, is the first day of the Lunar New Year of the Tiger when people didn't perform ancestral rites and prayers (Inbuljesa, 寅不祭祀) . On this day, if someone used the toilets in another person's house, that household would meet with misfortune, so people behaved themselves at home and refrained from cursing or speaking ill words about animals too.
Sangmyoil (High Rabbit Day) is the first day of the Lunar New Year of the Rabbit. On this day, people couldn't dig a well (Myobulcheonjeong, 卯不穿井). Also, as it was said that if you held thread or weaved clothes, you would live to a great age, women used to hold thread and weave it on a loom to make clothes on this day.
The first day of the Lunar New Year of the Dragon is Sangjinil (High Dragon Day) or Yongnal, when people didn't cry (Jinbulgokeup, 辰不哭泣). On this day, women would carry a water jar on their head and draw water from the well early in the morning, because they believed that the dragon would lay its eggs in the well at dawn, and that if people drew this water to cook rice, they would be fortunate and have a good harvest that year.
Sangsail (High Snake Day) is the first day of the Lunar New Year of the Snake, when people didn't set off on a long journey (Sabulwonhaeng, 巳不遠行). On this day, people didn’t wash clothes or do needlework, nor did they prepare firewood or bring it into the house, as this was said to prevent snakes from entering the house.
Sangoil (High Horse Day) is the first day of the Lunar New Year of the Horse, when people didn't thatch their roof (Obuljeomgae, 午不苫蓋). On this day, people would hold a ceremony for horses and give them a prize, in appreciation of their services. People also held an ancestral rite and made sauces and kimchi for the winter.
Sangmiil (High Sheep Day) was the first day of the Lunar New Year of the Sheep. On this day, people spent the day most insouciantly. People didn't take any medicine on this day as they believed it to be ineffective (Mibulbokyak, 未不服藥). However, because it is a fortunate day, they believed that things would be alright no matter what they did.
The first day of the Lunar New Year of the Monkey is Sangsinil (High Monkey Day) when men got up earlier than women to go outside (Sinbulansang, 申不安牀) and sweep the four corners of the kitchen and then the four corners of the front yard with a broom. On this day, people took a break from work and, in particular, refrained from using a knife as it was said that one might cut one's hand.
Sangyuil (High Rooster Day) is the first day of the Lunar New Year of the Rooster when women refrained from sewing. Moreover, people didn’t hold meetings or eat chicken (because they believed that fights often broke out during public gatherings: Yubulhoegaek, 酉不會客). On this day, it was said that if people did sewing or weaving, their hands would turn into ugly chicken feet.
Sangsulil (High Dog Day) is the first day of the Lunar New Year of the Dog when people didn't eat dog meat soup (Sulbulholgu, 戌不吃狗). It was believed that if one worked on this day, a dog would harm their vegetable patch, so people didn't work.
Sanghaeil (High Pig Day) is the first day of the Lunar New Year of the Pig when people didn't get married (Haebulgachwi, 亥不嫁翠). People also refrained from sewing because if they did, their fingers would become sore, and they avoided combing their hair because they believed it might result in various kinds of paralysis (Pungjeung)

# 7 Ending: We can still see the twelve zodiac animals in many festivals and seasonal customs in Korea. Our ancestors, who discovered a new meaning of life in the twelve zodiac signs and its culture, knew how to live harmoniously with nature. The customs that have been handed down to us embody the virtues of our ancestors, who approached nature with gratitude and humility.