It almost sounds like something out of a wearwolf movie but no, the “full moon” marks the baby’s first month of life outside the womb. In the Chinese tradition, this celebration is even more important than the baby’s first birthday.
Gavin’s full moon was celebrated on the 27th day after his birth. I don’t know why it was the 27th day and not the 28th day - it was the date given to us by the “wise old man” from the temple. Being the most ignorant in my new family of these customs, who was I to argue?
On the morning of the full moon, the baby’s head is supposed to be shaved. I negotiated for just a trim since Gavin had such a beautiful head of hair and I couldn’t bear to shave it off. After the hair cut, baby and mother have to bathe in water washed over pomelo leaves to remove any bad spirits.
The belief is that after delivery, both mother and child are “dirty”. From what I understand, it was bad luck to come into contact with us prior to the full moon. Relatives of the family will not visit the mother and baby until the day of the full moon after they are “cleansed”.
Full moon packages are prepared with red eggs to be given out as gifts to family members. The baby is dressed in gold to greet his deceased paternal grandparents - or so I was told. I confess I was a little alarmed to see my MIL take my baby in front of the altar to pray since the hubby and I have both agreed not to make any religious decisions for our child. It seems this little ceremony was merely to introduce my baby to his grandparents, although the whole affair appeared to me very much like a religious ritual.
The hubby went out to burn more paper after the greetings with his grandparents were exchanged after which lunch was served.
The full moon party took place in the evening. Friends and relatives gather for an evening of feasting and to welcome the new addition to the family. The lucky little boy received lots of red packets and presents, although he was oblivious to much of the affair since he slept through it all.
I wasn’t able to take any photos of the evening as I was busy carrying Gavin around, but here are some of the photos from the morning’s events:
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