Document Revision: by easc@indiana.edu
first birthday"The first birthday party is a very important celebration in Korean families. In the past, the infant mortality rate was very high, so living until one year was an important turning point in a child’s life. The highlight of the first birthday, or toll, celebration is the ‘picking-up’ ceremony, when the child is believed to fortell his or her future. |
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"We celebrated our daughter’s first birthday last November. At that time, we invited our American and Korean friends to join us. We prepared traditional foods for our guests to eat, including pulgogi (thin-sliced beef), chopche (noodles and vegetables), raw fish and rice cakes. My wife made the rice cakes in a special cooker. Foods for the ceremony also were prepared. There were fruits such as apples, pears and jujubes. We also bought cookies from the store, including Oreos. Of course, Oreos aren’t a traditional food, but they’re a pretty good substitute.
"Our daughter was wearing a Korean traditional dress, called a hanbok, which my parents sent us. After taking her picture seated before a table covered with the various ceremonial foods, we had the ‘picking-up’ ceremony. In front of her, we placed several different items: thread, rice, money, a pencil, books and a Bible. We asked her to pick up anything she preferred. First, she picked up a book, then money, and finally thread. According to Korean custom, a child who picks up a book is destined to be a scholar. If the child picks up money or rice, she will be wealthy. The thread means long life. It’s kind of a funny celebration, and we don’t take it too seriously. Perhaps if my daughter becomes a great scholar, we’ll remind her that she picked up a book at ther first birthday celebration.
"My wife and I are glad we could arrange this ceremony for our daughter. We almost gave up on the idea, because it’s hard work for parents like us. We are at the beginning stage of our life in America, and we don’t have very many people familiar with us who could help. We thought of taking pictures in a photographer’s shop instead of having the ceremony. But we were concerned that when our daughter grew up, she’d try to find some clothes from her first birthday party, and she wouldn’t be able to find any."
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Document Revision: by easc@indiana.edu |