2 Festivals, 1 Weekend: Sea Parting and Holi Hai

 

With two festivals back to back in one weekend, we all slept in as much as we could to get maximum energy.  That meant Paul needed to shave at the rest stop.  I like this man's dedication to his beauty rest.  Way to be, bro. 

Grandma Bbong -- remember her.  There's a quiz later. 

The first festival was the Sea Parting Festival in Jindo, which is exactly what is sounds like...the Old Testament Moses parting the sea story.  The better part of the day was spent watching dance performances - a great one by the military boys below.  They showed off some amazing rifle spinning skills, all while incorporating some new modern dance moves from K-pop bands.  

After walking around and eating, the sun was starting to set and the time was approaching.  We didn't expect much, to be fair.  How could they guarantee that the sea would part at this particular time, this day of the year and at this spot?! I still don't get it!  But it happened.  

At first, it looked like people were just walking into the water, which made us think that maybe the tide just goes out a bit so it's shallow enough to walk through?

But as we kept walking (in high fashion boots), the water kept parting, creating this pathway for people to walk from the mainland to a small island across the way.  And then it happened.  We saw Korean Moses.  Life complete. 

The story behind the Sea Parting is that long ago people who lived in this area were subject to many attacks from tigers.  When they all decided it was time to leave, a woman named Grandma Bbong was left behind by accident.  She prayed that she would be able to find her family and leave the dangerous land.  One night, the Dragon King appeared to her in a dream and told her that a rainbow would lead her to her family across the ocean.  So when she went to the ocean, she ran across the parted path in the sea and followed the rainbow to reunite with her family...and then she died in their arms from exhaustion.  I didn't say it would be a happy ending...

Day two: Holi Hai.  I've always heard about this festival in India, but as I have no plans to visit India as of yet, I didn't think I'd be able to participate in what looks like an incredibly fun day!  Holi Hai was hosted on Haeundae Beach in Busan and we lucked out with the weather!  Ready to go in our white tees, we grabbed our bags of powdered paint and waited for the party to start.  

Holi Hai: The god Krishna was poisoned as a baby and given dark blue skin.  As he got older, he was jealous and worried that the fair skinned girls, especially Radha, wouldn't like him.  His mother suggested that he paint the girl's face, which he did.  And then he and Radha became a couple.  So I guess that means when I put paint on David's face in pre-k it was true love?

We threw paint, ate samosas, listened to Indian music and learned new dance moves from a few guys who currently live in Busan.  Success!

After an exhausting weekend of biblical tales come to life and a paint war, it was time for nourishment - to Burger King!  We donned our crowns, ate our whoppers and laughed endlessly about the weekend we had just had.