감나무와 코스모스

Persimmon Trees	Cosmos Flowers

"Hallo" (寒露), which means "the time when cold dew begins to form," is the seventeenth of the twenty-four seasonal sub-divisions, or solar terms, of the lunar calendar. It usually falls around October 8 or 9 of the solar calendar.

이억영의 한로풍경 그림과 쇠기러기

"Landscape of Hallo" by Lee Eok-yeong	White-breasted Geese

According to Goryeosa (高麗史), the ancient history book compiled during the Goryeo dynasty: "Hallo is a season in September. The trigram (卦) from The Book of Changes is ‘The Joyous Lake' (卦) and ‘Nine in the Third Place' (九三). Wild geese arrive and stay here at the beginning of the year. Later, sparrows enter the big water and become seashells. In the end chrysanthemums bloom yellow." (寒露 九月節 兌九三 鴻鴈來賓 雀入大水化爲蛤 菊有黃華) 
Since "Hallo" often falls around "Jungyangjeol," Chinese poems (漢詩) frequently depicted scenes of "Hallo" including the folk customs of "Jungyangjeol," such as sticking cornelian cherries (茱萸) on one's head or going up to a high mountain to view one's hometown. Putting cornelian cherries in the high mountain was believed to ward off evil spirits. These cherries are dark red in color, and red was believed to be the color of yang (陽) energy with the power to drive away evil spirits (辟邪力). Around the "Hallo" and "Sanggang" (霜降) seasons, commoners enjoyed eating "chueotang" (鰍魚湯), or loach soup, as a seasonal food. Bonchogangmok (本草綱目, Compendium of Materia Medica) records that loach was good for strengthening the body's yang energy. Because loach became golden and fat in fall, it was, according to a legend, called "Chueo" (鰍魚).