Chuseok, also known as Korean Thanksgiving Day, is a major mid-autumn harvest festival and a three-day holiday in South Korea celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar on the full moon. The holiday period lasts for three days in total, including the day before and after Chuseok. This year, Chuseok falls on September 28, 2023. Traditionally, Koreans return to their ancestral hometowns to celebrate with their families, causing one of the biggest traffic jams of the year as people often take to the road to reach the provinces outside of Seoul. The purpose of Chuseok is for family members to gather together during the full harvest moon, celebrate, and show gratitude to their ancestors for the fruitful harvest. During Chuseok, masses of people travel from large cities to their hometowns to pay respect to the spirits of their ancestors. People perform ancestral worship rituals early in the morning, then visit the tombs of their immediate ancestors to trim plants, clean the area around the tomb, and offer food, drink, and crops to their ancestors. Koreans celebrate Chuseok by making special foods, particularly a certain kind of rice cake called songpyeon, which is made with finely ground new rice and filled with sesame seeds, chestnuts, red beans, or other similar ingredients. The rest of the day is spent playing folk games and bonding with family members.