In China, one-month-old feast and one-year-old
catch of a baby are of unique Chinese characteristic. These two ceremonies are of
milestone-like significance in the growing process of a baby.
On the day when a baby is a month old, the family of the baby will invite their
friends and relatives to a ceremony to celebrate the occasion. In a traditional
one-month-old ceremony, there will be a rejoicing and festive atmosphere in the
family and the feast is supposed to be lively and joyful. However, in recent years
this custom has been gradually abandoned among city dwellers, especially among young
couples. Nevertheless, one-month-old ceremony of a baby still remains a memorable
and happy moment for every family.
Zhou in the word zhuazhou means "a baby is one year old". The earliest
historical record about zhuazhou appeared during the Dynasty of Northern
Qi. On the day when a baby is a year old. the family of the baby will lay out sutras,
brush pens, ink sticks, paper, ink slabs, abacus, copper coins, account books, jewelries,
flowers, rouge, foods, toys, etc. For girls, scoops, scissors, rulers, thread, paper-cut
will be added. parents then put the baby in front of these articles and make it
sit up. Nobody will give any instruction or cue to the baby so that it is freely
to choose by itself. Watching baby catch articles it likes, family can then make
predictions about its potential interests, future career and development.
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