Excited to welcome a new stage of parenthood with your little cutie pie as he hits the one month or one hundred days milestone? But first, how are you going to celebrate this sweet memorable day? What traditional customs should you take note of and what are the meaning behind them? We’ve got some ideas on how and why you can celebrate this joyous occasion by incorporating some meaningful traditional routines.
Celebrating 100 Days or Full Month
In the past, due to harsh living conditions, it was rare for most babies to survive their first one hundred days, so when they did, the whole family would hold a full month or 100 days banquet to celebrate this meaningful milestone. In Asia, this tradition is mainly practiced by most Chinese, Korean, and Japanese families. In Singapore, some parents celebrate this when their babies are one month old, while some celebrate this when their babies are 100-days old.
Full month, also known as 满月 or 弥月 in Chinese, is celebrated by most Chinese parents in Singapore regardless of religion. Other than celebrating the baby’s milestone, these two occasions also mark the end of the mother’s confinement. Hence, in a way, a full month or 100 days celebration also celebrates the fact that the mother has recovered smoothly from childbirth.
For most families, these joyous occasions are also when the parent’s extended families meet the newborn baby for the first time and receive their blessing. If you’re looking to incorporate some traditional Chinese ritual when celebrating your baby’s full month or 100 days, here are some suggestions for you:
1. Mommy’s Grooming
Baby’s full moon also celebrates the end of confinement! Traditionally, this is the day when mothers are finally allowed to take their first bath with pomelo leaves and wash their hair. Although mothers nowadays do not practice the taboo of not washing hair and not showering for the whole month, they still bathe with pomelo leaves as a symbolic ritual.
2. Baby’s First Haircut
During the celebration, some families will shave their baby’s hair to signify a new beginning. When shaving your baby’s hair, you can say some auspicious blessing to the baby. There is also the custom that after the baby’s hair is shaved, it is given to the barber in a red envelope, along with the haircut fee and red eggs. The shaved hair can be made into the tip of a “Zhuangyuan pen” or “wisdom pen” or wrapped in red cloth.
3. Baby’s First Bath
After the hair shave, the baby is given a bath with pomelo leaves, coins and some flowers in it, in the belief that this ritual works to wash away bad luck. The baby may have his nails trimmed as well. After that, the mother will dress the child in new clothes.
3. Get New Clothes
Speaking of new clothes, there’s also the tradition of getting new clothes and accessories for the baby, preferably in red colour, which is believed to bring good blessing and future good wealth for the baby. On top of red outfits, gold jewellery is also often given to the baby.
4. Giving Full Month Pastries
Last but not least — and probably the full month tradition that we are most familiar with — is to give full month pastries to your friends and family. The meaning behind this practice is to spread the news and joy of your baby’s milestone to your loved ones, and get their blessings for your baby. In fact, each pastry that we usually see in a traditional full month pastry set actually comes with its own meaning too.
For instance, red eggs symbolise birth or a new start, fertility and rebirth. Meanwhile, eating Ang Ku Kueh — red glutinous rice cakes in turtle shape — and distributing them to relatives and friends symbolises longevity and wealth. There are different types of Ang Ku Kueh fillings to choose from such as peanut paste and mung bean (green bean) paste.
Introducing the New Celegift Traditional Full Month Package
More is always better, and the same goes to your baby’s full month pastry box! Nowadays, full month pastries are no longer restricted to just traditional treats — parents are also sending western treats like cakes and puffs to their loved ones.
Whether you prefer to do things the classic way or you prefer to have more variety for your full month pastries, Celegift’s brand new Traditional Full Month Package series has got you covered!
The Traditional series features 6-piece, 8-piece, 10-piece, and 12-piece sets. For the Traditional 6-piece set, you can expect timeless treats like Ang Yi (for baby boy) and Ang Ku Kueh (for baby girl), red eggs, and glutinous rice. Meanwhile, for 8-piece set and above, your pastry set will include modern treats including mini marble cheesecakes, vanilla swiss rolls (exclusive for Traditional 10-Piece Set), and moist brownies and custard puffs (Exclusive for Traditional 12-Piece set). What’s even better, all full month package orders come with free delivery and free baby e-card!
More Than Just Full Month Pastries
At Celegift, we offer new parents more than just pastries! Register a free account on our platform, and you’ll get to create a gift registry for free! Our platform features hundreds of gift for newborn baby and mother; just add the full month gift and baby full month gift set that you would like to receive on the registry, share it to your friends and family, and they can directly purchase from the list! Once your friends and family are done, we will wrap everything in a big gift box and deliver it to your home for free!
Learn more about our traditional full month packages and gift registry here!
