Jwibulnori facts for kids
| Jwibulnori | |
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Quick facts for kids Korean name |
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| Hangul |
쥐불놀이
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| Revised Romanization | Jwibulnori |
| McCune–Reischauer | Chwibulnori |
Jwibulnori (쥐불놀이) is a fun Korean game that people play with fire. It's a special activity done during the first full moon of the year in the lunar calendar. This day is a national holiday in Korea.
People light fires in rice paddies and fields. This helps get rid of harmful insects and rats. Playing Jwibulnori also means wishing for good health for the year ahead.
Players make a torchlight using a basket or a container tied with a strong string. They go out and twirl it around. Sometimes, different villages even have friendly competitions. The game continues until midnight. After playing, people make a fire on the farmland.
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What is Jwibulnori?
Jwibulnori is a traditional Korean game involving fire. It is played to protect crops and wish for good luck. The name means "rat fire play."
How did Jwibulnori start?
Jwibulnori began from an old custom. Farmers would set fire to the dry grass on the ridges between rice paddies. This happened the day before New Year's Day in the lunar calendar. It was a way to prepare the fields for the new farming season.
Jwibulnori Today
Even though traditional Jwibulnori is less common now, it's still part of New Year's Eve celebrations. Today, children often use "fire-cans" instead of torches. These are cans with holes drilled in them.
What are Fire-Cans?
The fire-can game is a modern way to play Jwibulnori. It became popular after the Korean War. Cans from military supplies were used as toys.
To make a fire-can, you drill many holes in an empty can. These holes help air flow so the wood inside burns well. Then, a wire about 1 meter long is attached to the can to make a handle.
You put small pieces of wood or paper inside the can and light them. When you hold the wire and spin the can fast, the burning fuel creates beautiful sparks. Kids often compete to see whose fire-can burns the brightest.
How to Play with a Fire-Can
There isn't one strict way to play Jwibulnori. Usually, people burn bundles of brooms or trees in fields around their village. In some areas, people run around with burning mugwort. Nowadays, many play with "Bulkkangtong" (불깡통), which means fire-cans.
As midnight gets closer, the wood in the fire-cans burns down to embers. Players then climb a small hill or go to a riverside. They throw the fire-can high into the sky. Hundreds of glowing embers fall, lighting up the night. This is like sending away bad luck and welcoming good luck. It's similar to how people fly kites on New Year's Day to get rid of bad luck.
Jwibulnori in Different Regions
Jwibulnori traditions can vary slightly from place to place.
Jwibulnori on Jeju Island
On Jeju Island, people light fires in the rangelands of Mt. Halla (한라산) in February. This is called Hwaip (화입). People on Jeju Island also have a special name for rats, calling them "daughter-in-law." They believe if you just call a mouse a "mouse," it will be naughty.
There's also a custom on Jeju Island not to do certain things on the "day of the mouse." For example, they don't put starch on clothes. Jwibulnori is a folk tradition linked to rats. It's about setting fires in fields on the first day of the first lunar month. In some regions, it's also known as "Jwibul" (쥐불) when combined with moon torchlight on New Year's Eve.
Today, Jwibulnori is slowly disappearing in some areas. This is because of fire safety rules. Also, modern pesticides help control pests, so burning fields isn't as necessary.
Jwibulnori in China
Similar fire traditions exist in other parts of the world. In southern China and Europe, farmers also burn fires. This is often connected to their crops.
In China, there's a "Hunchung" (훈충) event called "Yongdaedu" (용대두) on February 2 of the Lunar New Year. This holiday celebrates a dragon raising its head. People believe that if they spray ashes like a dragon outside their door and in the kitchen, it can prevent insect problems for their farms.
Jwibulnori on Commemorative Coins
Jwibulnori is even shown on Pyeongchang commemorative coins. These coins were made to celebrate the PyeongChang Olympic Games. There are gold, silver, and brass coins.
Jwibulnori is engraved on the gold coins. These gold coins also show other traditional Korean games, like mono maple sledding. The silver and brass coins feature Olympic sports like speed skating and bobsleigh.
