Category Archives: Gestation, birth, and infancy

Generally up to the first year.

‘Confirmation’ in the Greek Orthodox Church

Lavelle: “I know that in the Coptic Orthodox church, babies are baptized, given communion, and confirmed all at the same time. Is that the same in Greek Orthodox?”

Informant: “Yeah.”

Lavelle: “Which is interesting, because, like, how can you be confirmed when you haven’t even—you don’t even have full awareness of–”

Informant: “It’s not really you’re getting confirmed, um, that’s just a word that we apply to it because that’s what other people understand because they understand being confirmed in, like, the Catholic Church, so there’s – it’s not technically like you walk away being, like, you’re not, like, oh now you’re confirmed, now you’re this, now you’re that, um, it’s just sort of— that’s the only thing you have to do. And it’s more, it’s not so much of a sign of, like, I’ve accepted the beliefs and that type of thing, it’s more of a sign of, like, God accepted you and you don’t have to do anything else. Like, I mean, obviously like live a good life, believe, that type of thing, um, but it’s more of, like, I don’t have to work for it, um, and I’m just accepted anyway. That’s the idea. So it’s not really like you’re getting confirmed. Um. It’s just a word that we apply to it because that’s what, um, Catholics understand.”

 

My informant is a member of the Greek Orthodox Church, a faith she inherited from her mother’s family. My informant is well versed on the practices in the Catholic Church as she attended a Catholic high school.

This information about an important initiation ceremony in the Greek Orthodox was collected unintentionally. While my informant was discussing other traditions in the Orthodox church, I interrupted her to clarify a fact I remembered from previous interactions with the Coptic church. My informant provided a very interesting explanation of what the Orthodox calls ‘confirmation.’ The contrast between this practice and the practice in the Catholic church is much greater than I realized.

To read more about the sacraments in the Greek Orthodox Church:

http://www.goarch.org/ourfaith/ourfaith7105

 

Confirmation in the Catholic church is a rather extensive process and often involves classes and community service. Young Catholics are often confirmed between the ages of 13-17 in a traditional ceremony during a Catholic mass.

To read more about confirmation in the Catholic church:

http://www.beginningcatholic.com/confirmation.html

http://catholicism.about.com/od/beliefsteachings/p/Confirmation.htm

 

“Don’t cut your baby’s hair before their first birthday”

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 14th, 2013
Primary Language: English

Informant Data: My informant is an International Relations major here at the University of Southern California. He is African-American and does not identify with any religious system of belief.

Item: The folk-belief that it is bad luck to cut your baby’s hair before its first birthday. The following quotations are direct transcriptions of my dialogue with the informant, while the additional information provided is paraphrased.

Contextual Data: My informant first heard this belief around the time he was in high school. He overheard his mother and her colleagues mention it, and when he inquired to its veracity he remembers their light-hearted affirmations. “They seemed to think of it lightly, but still as a solid parenting rule.” When asked what would happen, according to the belief, if one were to cut their child’s hair prior to their first birthday, he was a little unclear. “I always just assumed bad luck, not for the parent but for the child, in health or development, or perhaps it prophesies a future of horrible hair for the kid.” He continued on to explain that in the African-American community, there is a strong fear of coarse and hard to manage hair, and that perhaps this belief is an attempt to evade such . Additionally, the roots of the saying could be traced to a more evolutionary position, in which hair served a principal role of keeping the child warm, and cutting a baby’s hair would indicate potential illness or vulnerability. The informant continued on to say that he felt it common “in the African American community that superstitions contribute a great deal, whether consciously or otherwise, to how individuals conduct themselves in their everyday lives.” While this may be valid for many groups, the informant’s resolute acknowledgment of such a facet of his own community speaks to its prevalence. When asked if he agreed with the position of this being a parenting rule to abide, he replied, “I cannot think of a substantial reason why it would be valid, at least in modern day. So yeah, if my kid needs a haircut before their first birthday, I wouldn’t deny them that on the account of superstition.”

How to guess the sex of a pregnant woman’s baby

Nationality: Am
Age: 49
Occupation: Therapist
Residence: Newport Beach, CA
Performance Date: April 10th, 2013
Primary Language: English

Informant Data: The informant is in her late 40’s, Caucasian and self-identifies strongly with Judaism. She is married with two daughters, and has a career as a Family Mental Health Therapist.

Item: The folk-belief that in pregnant women, girls are carried high and boys are carried low, as well as the folk-ritual of guessing the baby’s sex at the baby shower. At the baby shower, the expecting mother with lie down on her back with her belly exposed. A friend will then dangle her wedding ring, tied to a string, over the belly. If the ring swings back and forth, it’s a boy, and if the ring moves in a circle, the baby is a girl. The following quotations are direct transcriptions of my dialogue with the informant, while the additional information provided is paraphrased.

Contextual Data: My informant was introduced to both of these items when she was pregnant with her first child. “I was told that I was going to have a girl, because I was carrying so high. And sure enough, I did. Second time I was pregnant I was carrying high again and many people I met told me as well “must be a girl!” And sure enough, another baby girl. I always thought it would be more comfortable to carry a pregnancy low though, but never got the chance to find out.” When asked, my informant said she did not believe it’s a valid predictor of sex, that her experience with it “was two coincidences back-to-back.” Furthermore, she says that “whether you carry a baby high or low, I think, is dependent on your body type and configuration. I don’t think many women who have multiple children switch.” As for the baby shower folk-ritual, my informant detailed that “this was done for me at both my baby showers, almost more for the delight of my friends than my own! They took my wedding ring, tied some thread around it and held it above my belly. Then, they all screamed as it started in an oval-like path, both times. I took this as an “in-between” kind-of answer, since it wasn’t really a circle and it wasn’t really back and forth, but my girlfriends took it for a circle.” Again, the sex of her children correlated with this method’s prediction as well. “I still don’t think there’s much validity to it, but I sound so cynical because both methods of guessing my babies’ sex were right, four out of four times!” My informant chalks both of the items up to coincidence, explaining “I don’t think I could even guess a biological or rational reason why they worked for me, so I’m going to say it’s a funny coincidence.” These practices seem to have their roots in a pre-modern era, due to the contemporary technologies that eliminate the need for guessing. Therefore, they seem to be upheld by tradition and their interactive nature. “People love to comment on pregnancies, whether it evokes nostalgia for them or perhaps your excitement is contagious, loved ones like to feel like a part of the process,” and these two items are ways to feel incorporated.

Full Month Party

Nationality: Chinese
Age: 48
Occupation: Software Engineer
Residence: Naperville, Illinois
Performance Date: 4/9/13
Primary Language: Chinese
Language: English

MATERIAL

 

小婴儿出生后一个月之内，不去公共场所，但是当满一个月时，通常都要摆“满月酒”，亲戚朋友们要给小婴儿送钱或者礼物表示祝贺；婴儿的家人要请来宾喝喜酒、吃喜蛋表示感谢。

 

Before a newborn turns one month old, neither the mother nor the baby ventures outside of the house. The baby especially can never go to any public places. However, when the baby turns one month old, there is a full month party. Friends and relatives come to the mother’s house to celebrate the baby’s first month. They drink alcohol and give the baby money or gifts to congratulate his or her life. In return, the mother and father will provide hard-boiled eggs that are painted many different colors for their friends and family to eat to show their gratitude for them.

 

ANALYSIS

 

Up until a few decades ago, it was not uncommon for babies in China to die before they reached one month of age. Living conditions, especially in the rural areas of China, were not up to par and many diseases floated around. Therefore, it was a big deal for a baby to survive its first month, because it was much more likely for it to live a normal life without complications. In some areas, babies weren’t even given names until they turned one month old. The Chinese tradition of celebrating a baby’s first full month has carried over to the modern day, despite newborn mortality rates being much lower than ever before. The eggs that are given to guests to eat are a symbol of fertility.

 

This tradition is especially hits home for my informant. She was the youngest of 5 in her family, the oldest being her brother and then three older sisters. She was born and raised in rural China, only moving to the United States when she was 28 years old. After my informant’s mother had her son and the first two daughters, she gave birth to two boys one year apart from each other. The first boy died before he reached his first month, but the other lived to be two years old before passing away from disease. Although my informant never met her two older brothers, it is still something that the whole family will with their whole lives. So, the full month celebration for all of the babies in the extended family have been and will continue to be elaborate, grand parties with a lot of love.

돌 잔치

Nationality: Korean
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: California
Performance Date: April 27, 2013
Primary Language: Korean
Language: English

In Korea, a child’s first birthday is called 돌 (Dol), and is celebrated extravagantly with many guests and festivities. From what I learned from my parents and upperclassmen, this celebration dates back to much older times. The reason that the first birthday is so celebrated is because during the time period, babies did not often live long enough to become one year old meaning that when they did survive, it was almost a miracle. This tradition continued on, celebrated by each family for each of their children. Back when I lived in Korea, I went to my younger cousin’s 1st birthday. Almost the entire family was there, along with friends, neighbors, and loved ones. My cousin was wearing traditional Korean clothes, which is known as a hanbok. The thing I remember most is actually one of the key traditions: the fortune-telling ritual. It is the most memorable part of the celebration, when many items including money, yarn of string, rice cake, books, noodles, etc are laid out in front of the child. The adults urged the child to pick up an object out of the many objects displayed before him. The reason for this was that when the child picks up an object, it is an indicator of what kind of person the child would be when he grew up. Indeed, each item was symbolic for a particular future. For instance, the yarn of string symbolizes longevity while the rice cakes symbolize good fortune and strength. Picking up a pen or book would indicate the child would become a scholar, while picking up money means that the child will become wealthy. Everybody eagerly waited for my baby cousin to choose and cheered when he finally picked something up. After this, the guests went up to play with the baby. They gave gifts to the parents to congratulate them and were very much jubilant and cheerful. The food, too, was very traditional. In front of the baby was set a mountain of rainbow colored rice cakes. This was meant to symbolize prosperity and good fortune for the baby. In addition, there were fruits and seaweed soup as well. Seaweed soup is actually a symbol for birthdays and is traditionally eaten every birthday starting with Dol. It was truly not a quiet, reserved party. Everybody was talking, enjoying themselves, and having fun with the baby or talking to the parents about how much they wished good fortune for the baby’s future. Shortly after, the guests began to leave after having blessed the family and given them gifts to commemorate the special day. This day was ultimately very important to me because in my eyes, these events were a time when many relatives, even very distant relatives, would come together. Regardless of where they were or how much had changed, they decided to come together to celebrate the healthy child and to have time to catch up on each others’ lives. If anything, it also was a symbol of how much the parents treasure their beloved child and the hopes that they have for the child they are raising.