When a new life is born, it is a gratifying event for the entire family and even the family. Since ancient times, there have been many agreed upon customs for pregnancy, childbirth, and turning one year old. I hope that in a series of solemn ceremonies, the joy and importance in my heart can be expressed. As times change, although many customs have been simplified, we will still take you to find the old life customs, hoping to bring blessings of peace and health to the next generation.
The midwife would apply sesame oil on the wound, which seems a bit unbelievable from a modern perspective. It is no wonder that there is a proverb among the people that "a child born with the fragrance of chicken and wine cannot live with four boards." After giving birth, the placenta must be placed in an urn and buried in the soil. Nowadays, births are all done in hospitals. With regular prenatal check-ups and medical advancements, birth crises have been reduced a lot. The placenta is also handled by the hospital, so there is no custom of burying the placenta.
Taboo: For fear of hemorrhage, red and water-like objects cannot be placed in the delivery room, because these two items can make people feel like hemorrhage.
*Confinement (time: after delivery)
After delivery, the baby and the mother will begin to enter the confinement stage. During this whole month or forty days, the mother and Children are not allowed to go out. The main purpose is to hope that both mother and child can get the best rest.
Taboos: 1. In the past, people believed that the intrauterine chamber was unclean and unclean. In fact, the main purpose was to reduce the number of relatives and friends who would disturb the mother.
2 The mother is not allowed to go out before the full moon. She must wait until the confinement period is completed before she can resume her previous life.
*Sanchao (time: third day after birth)
The third day after the baby is born is customarily called Sanchao. On this day, you need to give your baby a bath. When bathing, put osmanthus hearts, orange leaves, and three small stones in the bathtub. The heart of the sweet-scented osmanthus symbolizes wealth; the orange leaves represent sweetness and prosperity, and I hope that the house will be full of children and grandchildren in the future; there are two views on stones. One is to help the baby become courageous, so choose stones of appropriate size (the courage should not be too small or too small). bold), and the shape should be round, so that the personality will be soft and smooth. The second theory is that you hope your baby will have a hard head shell like a stone.
After taking a bath and putting on new clothes, prepare chicken wine and oily rice to worship ancestors and patron saints. Generally, the chicken feet from the animal sacrifice are stuffed into the belly of the chicken during worship. However, when performing the rituals of the three dynasties, the chicken feet should be placed outside, which means that the child will have a pair of strong feet. In addition, as the saying goes, long feet will bring good luck. , indicating that the child will be blessed with adequate food and clothing in the future.
Items prepared: 1 osmanthus heart, orange leaves, three stones, and bathtub.
2 Chicken wine, oily rice, and worship supplies.
After the rituals such as offering sacrifices to the ancestors are completed, chicken, wine and oily rice will be sent to the mother's family to inform the mother's family that the grandson has been born, and the mother's family will respond with various supplements to help the mother replenish her body.
At the same time, chicken, wine and oily rice will also be given to the matchmaker to thank the matchmaker for being a matchmaker and sharing the good news of the new life. However, due to the preference for boys over girls in the past, some people only give birth to boys. Send chicken, wine, oil and rice to the matchmaker. In addition, chicken wine and fried rice will be distributed to neighbors, so that everyone can add the joy of new life together.
Items to be prepared: chicken wine, fried rice
*Head shaving (time: twenty-four days after birth or at the full moon)
The head shaving ceremony varies according to local customs , some people choose to perform the head shaving ceremony on the day of the full moon, and some choose to perform the head shaving ceremony on the twenty-fourth day after birth because of the twenty-four filial piety reasons, hoping that their children will be filial in the future. In addition, if you look more carefully, you will see what day of the day the haircut is and what it means, such as the third day of the lunar month (representing wealth), the fourth day of the lunar month (pleasure), the eighth day of the lunar month (longevity)... Sometimes it is deliberately postponed for a day or two. , I will only shave my head when the time comes.
When shaving your head, first invite an experienced shaving master. At the same time, prepare yin and yang water (half boiled water + half boiled water) in the bathtub, add red eggs (red top), duck eggs (pressed (evil), mugwort (pure), onion (smart), stone (representing courage and hardness of the skull). After the shaver shaves the baby's hair and eyebrows, he takes an egg and rolls it around the baby's face, and then takes a duck egg. Roll it around the body and say auspicious words such as "chicken egg noodles, duck egg body", etc., hoping that the baby will have a face as beautiful as an egg and a body as strong as a duck egg.
Prepared items: red eggs, duck eggs, mugwort, green onions, stones
* The joy of the full moon (time: one month after birth)
Passed After a month (some people forty days) of "retreat" stage, the mother and baby have officially finished confinement and are about to resume their normal lives. In order to celebrate the addition of new life, a full moon banquet is usually held on this day. On a small scale, relatives and friends will be invited to eat chicken wine and fried rice. On a more formal scale, a banquet will be booked for guests. In recent years, some celebrities are "too late" to get married. Notify everyone, and when the child is one month old, officially inform relatives, friends, and the audience that not only are they getting married, but a baby is also born.
This can be regarded as a wonderful scene that appears as the times change!
In addition to treating guests, most modern people share mooncakes or mooncakes with friends and colleagues. Of course, relatives and friends who receive the good news will reciprocate with red envelopes or baby products as congratulations.
On this day, grandma’s house will also prepare gifts for the baby, which refers to all the things the baby needs from head to toe, including clothes, hats, shoes and socks, quilts, shrimp shirts, etc. There are also Waima Yuan, Red Turtle Barley, Heart Peach, Li Zhu, etc. Usually the clothes sent by grandma's family will be embroidered with the word "swastika" on the back, symbolizing the meaning of peace.
*Call owl (time: full moon)
There is also a custom of "calling owl" during the full moon. Owl refers to an eagle. Get your brother or sister to carry the baby outside and walk around the house, holding a chicken pole in hand. As they walk, they shout, "The owl is flying up the mountain, and the owl will become an official soon; the owl is flying low, and the owl is flying low, and the owl is flying low. The boy will become a father soon; the owl will fly high, and the boy will become the number one scholar" (Taiwanese). Then, the brother or sister who carries the person can get a chicken leg.
Items to prepare: poles for chasing chickens, chicken legs.
Usually parents will ask fortune tellers or elders in the family to help choose names for their children. Moreover, in the past, it was believed that the more casual or even difficult the name was, the easier it would be to raise a child, so names such as Nong Yao, Nong Shi, and A Gou were often heard.
Of course, it is now stipulated that children must register for household registration within one month after birth, so they start to choose names for children early. In addition, every child is the darling of his parents, so choosing a name becomes a matter of course. It is a big event, not only to arrange the horoscopes and read the zodiac signs, but also to be fresh and refined, loud and pleasant. I hope that a good name for the child will bring good luck throughout his life.
*Fourth Day & Saliva Collection (Time: Four months after birth)
When the baby is four months old, it means that the baby has passed the dangerous level of the newborn period. , at this time, April Day will be made for the children. It is necessary to prepare sacrifices, red peaches, red turtles, etc. to offer sacrifices to ancestors and gods. Grandma's family will also give gifts to babies. Another ritual is "collecting saliva", which means to collect saliva, because some children drool very much and often make their chests wet. Therefore, I hope that through this ritual, the baby will stop drooling. Drool, grow up.
When collecting saliva, prepare hollow biscuits, thread the biscuits into strings with red silk thread, and hang them around the baby's neck. Then, take the baby to the home of relatives and friends and invite them to collect the saliva. Relatives and friends will fold the biscuit in half, and then use the biscuit to scratch the baby's lower lip as if wiping saliva. Then say auspicious words: "Collect the saliva and collect the dry stem, and the subsequent fetus will give birth to an egg." "Collect the saliva and collect the separation, and you will have a younger brother next year" (Taiwanese), mainly to wish that the next child will be a boy. This is another concept that favored sons over daughters in the past, but in modern times, many people think that having a daughter is more thoughtful, so the auspicious words may need to be modified!
Taboos within four months:
1. Do not eat meat - you will get sores in the future. 2. Do not get exposed to the rain - you will develop asthma in the future. 3. Do not go out at night - it will cause evil spirits. 4 Don’t praise your child in front of him, for example, if he is well-behaved or doesn’t like to cry - he will be malfunctioning in the future!
*Gu Teeth (time: seven to nine months)
Common saying It is said that seven sitting, eight climbing and nine hair teeth represent the growth and development stages of a child. Nowadays, children are well-nourished and stimulated, and their growth rate will probably exceed that of before. Babies who are faster may have teeth in six or seven months.
Because people in the past thought it was bad to have only one tooth, so the custom of "eating aunt rice and wearing aunt shoes" came into being.
You need to ask your aunt to bring rice that has been soaked in water to cook porridge for the baby to eat. You also need to ask your aunt to give you a pair of shoes for the baby to wear. In this way, you can eat and wear. It can wish the baby to grow teeth quickly.
Items to prepare: water rice from aunt’s house, shoes given by aunt
*Dushen & Zhuzhou (time: one year old)
Dushen means The baby is one year old. In order to celebrate the baby's first birthday, sacrifices and red turtles are prepared to worship ancestors and gods, and grandma and grandpa will also send head and tail (clothing and gold ornaments from head to toe). Some people also prepare a bun when spending the night, use the bun to wipe their mouth, and then say "go away the smelly mouth, come back the sweet mouth". This is mainly to hope that the baby will not have a bad mouth in the future, and it also symbolizes growth.
There is another important program on this day, which is the baby's first aptitude test - the pregnancy test. According to legend, the custom of capturing Zhou Dynasties began in the Northern and Southern Dynasties.
Parents prepare twelve items for their children that represent various walks of life and future interests. As usual, these items are placed in a rice sieve, and then the baby is allowed to crawl forward and follow his or her own path. Likes and grabs something that represents his future development. Of course, no matter what the child grabs, the parents always have the ability to add annotations such as "will be a billionaire, a big boss, a big lawyer" and so on for the child. We won’t know until we grow up whether it’s accurate or not, but it will definitely bring great joy and expectations to our parents now.
Books: Can read, literati Seal: Have power, become a great official. Writing: Can write, good writing style, can be a writer or reporter Abacus: If you can calculate, you can be an accountant or a businessman. Ink: If you are good at painting and calligraphy, you can be a painter or calligrapher. Money: Make a lot of money and have wealth. Chicken legs: Have good fortune. Celery: Hardworking and down-to-earth. Ruler: Good at designing and measuring. Designer, architect Onion: Smart and flexible Garlic: Possessing arithmetic and calculation skills Fields and rice fields: Can be engaged in farming
Handset: Doctor Mouse: computer worker, programmer Sword, gun: military officer, police officer Book: lawyer, writer Microphone: singer Gold card: have money
*Taboo before one year old*
1 Not allowed Eat chicken feet - you will tear the book apart later. 2. Do not touch a sleeping baby - the child will not sleep well. 3. If you don’t take a shower after sunset - you will be in trouble. (In the past, there was no water heater, so I would bathe the baby when the weather was warm.) 4. Do not use a ruler to hit children - they will be naughty in the future. 5 Don’t eat eggplant – it will cause tooth decay in the future. 6 Don’t eat fish eggs—it won’t count in the future. 7. Don’t eat chicken intestines - you will become verbose in the future.
*Be frightened
Some children are timid and are frightened by the sound of cars or dogs, or cry uneasily for no reason. At this time, the elders will think that the child is frightened. , but to help the child calm down.
Generally speaking, you can ask the master or elder to stop the fright, usually with rice, children's clothes and other items. Some people also took children's clothes to the temple, and the temple authorities took care of them.
Myth: Newborns will have a "startle" physiological reflex action. When sleeping, they will suddenly raise their hands upwards or outwards symmetrically and spread their fingers outward. This is a normal physiological behavior. Generally, It disappears after four to six months, so some elders will wrap the baby's hands to prevent them from moving freely to avoid being frightened. However, after the full moon, it is best to give the child space to move his limbs. This is not a fright, and it will naturally disappear when he grows up.
As an adopted son, I hope God can bless the child to be well-behaved and healthy. Copper coins and amulets that have been prayed for in the temple will also be hung on the children, so that the children will always receive the blessings of the gods.
Due to differences in regional and religious beliefs, customs in various places will be more or less different. In addition to recording our customs and folk customs, the transmission of customs is mainly hoped to make our The next generation will be safe and sound. Parents who are interested may wish to pray for your baby from an appreciative but non-superstitious perspective!
References: 1 New Life Saving Life 2 Full Moon Wedding Banquet Recipes 3 Chinese Full Moon Dinner Set