It's Mandoo Day

It is a Korea New Year's tradition to eat mandoo (dumpling) soup on New Year's Day. You have to eat this soup to have good luck and gain a year to your age. While everyone gets excited to celebrate New Year's Eve our family always put more emphasis on New Years Day.  My sister, Anna, has always called this day "Mandoo Day."  When she was little she would get so excited and scream "it's Mandoo Day!" over and over again.

I grew up making hundreds of these dumplings on New Year's Day with my family. It is said that if your mandoo is pretty you will have beautiful children. So of course my family goes around critiquing each other's work and making fun of each other's mandoo. Since moving to Boulder and being away from our family we have not gotten to be a part of this family tradition.  This year we are so lucky to be together ringing in the new year and making Mandoo together.