Dano is a major Korean holiday (considered by Koreans third in importance after
Chuseok or Lunar New Year). It's a late spring holiday akin to
Memorial day (insofar as it's the semi official kick off to summer). Dano is held on the 5th day of the 5th month on the
lunar calendar which means it tends to be held in June. The 5-5 is important as 5 is considered a lucky number in Korea and that date is considered auspicious.
Dano was a time when Koreans traditionally started to pray to the gods to remind them of the coming fall
harvest and get them to do their divine
prep work.
Because the 5-5 date was consider super lucky, many men and women figured it was the best day to get lucky. Dano took on some
Valentines Day like overtones. Women ritually wash their hair that day to symbolize their expectations for booty. They rinse their hair in water that has been boiled with
iris petals. After washing their hair, women get on swings and, well, swing. The traditional belief is a woman who can
swing high is irresistible (or at least hard not to notice) by some passing
prince on a horse.
Men engaged in contests of strength and prowess to convince their lady fair that being able to beat up another man would mean he'd be a good father. On Dano, men engage in Korean wrestling,
tug-of-war, and, before it was banned,
Seok Jeon.
Dano's origins are cloudy, although the holiday has been celebrated in some form for over 1,000 years. A story is told Dano began to honor a loyal
vassal who killed himself rather than betray his king.