There is an opinion that in the old days no one took much care in raising children. They say they grew like weeds in villages, on their own. But the abundance of traditions associated with the birth and upbringing of children suggests the opposite. Some of them we still use today, others are completely forgotten. Today people are awakening to an interest in their roots and traditions of their ancestors. Therefore, we will tell you about the most popular rituals associated with children.
What does “bring in the hem” mean?
Today the expression has a negative connotation. This is what they say when they want to emphasize a woman’s lifestyle. “I had enough of a child” - I gave birth to him outside of marriage.
And in the days of our grandmothers, little ones came to their home regularly in hemlines. Then there was no maternity leave from the 30th week of pregnancy; they worked until the baby was born. And given the advances in medicine at that time, no one knew exactly this date. Therefore, childbirth was found in a field, in a stable, and it was impossible to constantly carry diapers with you. Therefore, the child was carried home in a hem or in a headscarf.
Festive viewing of a newborn
Today, newborn viewings are increasingly a magnificent celebration in honor of the birth of the baby. If you have
If you want to organize such a holiday, wait until the due date and plan the celebration in the second or third month after the birth of the baby. Firstly, in the first month, mom herself has no time for the holidays. Secondly, even short-term communication with several adults at once can be harmful for a child: the reason for this is the likelihood of infections (and newborns still have too weak an immune system) and stress from the smell, sight, voice of strangers.
Festive viewing of a newborn: organization
Place for viewing. First of all, decide where you would like to hold this event. Possible places: in your apartment/house, in the courtyard of a country house, in a park, in a cafe or restaurant. If you decide to hold a child's viewing in a cafe or restaurant, rent a whole room so that there are no strangers. If there are few guests, look for a cafe or restaurant with a small banquet hall.
Inviting guests. Next, create a guest list, taking into account how many people can fit in the chosen location. The next step is an invitation to the screening. If possible, it is better to send out invitations. They can be made in the form of a diaper or an unbuttoned vest. If you don’t have time to deal with invitations, call all the guests and invite them verbally.
Theme and style of the newborn baby show. It is advisable to think about the theme or style of the event. For example, if a boy was born, you can decorate the venue in blue, if a girl - in pink. Another decor theme is the baby zoo. When choosing this theme, they decorate the location of the holiday with images and figurines of baby animals and chicks. You can use white and silver colors for decoration, using wings and angel figures for decoration. A common theme is environmental. They say, a child was born, and now parents need to lead a healthy lifestyle and take care of the planet on which their grandchildren will live. In this case, the venue for the wedding is decorated in green tones; mainly natural materials are used for decoration and serving: linen tablecloth and napkins, wicker dishes, compositions made of twigs, decorative nests, etc.
Cake in honor of a newborn girl (from the site susanscakestudio.com)
And this cake is in honor of the twins
Do not use balloons for decoration - if the balloon bursts and makes a loud sound, the baby may be very scared. If you are planning a fireworks display, then move it to the end of the event, when the mother (or grandmother, nanny, etc.) and the baby have already left the party.
Progress of the Newborn Baby Shower celebration. Start the event by showing off the hero of the occasion - let friends and relatives have a good look at the baby. Then you can invite the guests to say congratulatory words, but very quietly and gently so as not to scare the child. In principle, immediately after this the baby can be taken home. And so that guests don’t get bored without him, place small frames with photographs of the newborn on the tables. You can even, if possible, show the first film about him.
Prepare a memorial book - an album made using the scrapbooking technique is best. Let the guests write down their first impressions of meeting the baby and include the postcards they brought. Then you can play a little and even dance.
Plan a “gift” moment - guests will certainly want to give gifts to mom and dad. But you can also prepare memorable gifts for guests in small bonbonniere boxes. You can put chocolate drops, nuts, a magnet with a photo of your baby in them, and, for example, a candle in the shape of a bunny or a pacifier.
Bonbonnieres in the theme
Baptism
All children in Rus' were baptized, as this was considered a protective ritual. They were preparing for this event and considered it very important and significant. The midwife who delivered the baby prepared porridge, and it was called “Babkina porridge.” The godparents bought it, after which they divided a spoonful among all the participants in the event.
After this, it was time to “wash the hooves.” This meant drinking to the baby's health. Often, raising a glass, guests handed over their gifts and said parting words.
"Spoon for a tooth"
This was usually timed to coincide with the date of the christening. Moreover, if today it is customary to bring gifts to the baby, then before the main character of the holiday was the woman in labor. Presents were prepared for her. But, of course, most often these were things for caring for the baby. Since about 1940, the expression has been interpreted as an offering to a child. If there was such an opportunity (primarily financial), they tried to give silver items. There has always been a special attitude towards this metal; it warded off illnesses and cleansed the house with its presence. Hence the “silvering of a tooth.”
Why exactly a spoon? The fact is that before there were no individual plates; people ate from a common bowl. But everyone should have had a spoon, just like we have a toothbrush today.
Newborn and baby shower: games and competitions for guests
Of course, you need to provide a little entertainment for the guests who came to the holiday viewing or to the baby shower (baby shower). Let's borrow games popular among American mothers.
Game "Children's dowry". We take many (at least 20) items that are often used when caring for the baby and for entertaining him. This could be a pacifier, diaper, bottle with pacifier, teething ring, bib, rattle, bottle of baby oil, package of wet wipes, baby monitor, sleeping bag, booties, baby thermometer, oilcloth, etc.
We put it all in a fabric bag or pillowcase and tie it. The host of the game has a list of items in his hands, and he will also need a pen or pencil to cross out what was named. The presenter brings a bag to each participant and asks them to guess one children's item by touch. The one who guesses the last item wins a prize.
The second version of this game. We pass the bag around, giving each guest the opportunity to feel (again, by touch) what lies there. Don't give the guest more than 1 minute to identify the contents. Then everyone writes down on paper a list of what they found in the bag. Accordingly, you will need to hand out a piece of paper and a pen to the guests. The one who writes the most correct answers wins.
Third version of the game. We put many more items in the bag (at least 30) and do not tie it. We pass the bag around, giving each guest the opportunity to look into it and try to remember the contents. Each guest is given 0.5-1 minute for this. Then guests write what they remember from the contents of the bag. Whoever has the larger list wins.
Game "Supermom". You need to pull the rope at the same height as a clothesline is usually hung. You will also need a dozen children's things in a basket (from handkerchiefs and caps to rompers and dresses), a couple of dozen clothespins, a baby-sized doll and a mobile phone (an old non-working one or even a toy one). Task: the participant must hang clothes on a line as quickly as possible, holding a doll (“child”) in his hand and at the same time “talking” on a mobile phone. At the Leader’s sign, the time is noted, and the participant begins to hang out the laundry. The result is recorded on paper. Everyone is welcome to participate. The winner is the one who takes the least amount of time to hang up the children's laundry.
Guessing game “Sweet bottle”. You will need a baby bottle. It needs to be filled with sweets: gummies, dragees, etc. You need to know the exact amount of sweets in the bottle. Guests are invited to guess how many sweets are in the bottle by giving an approximate number. Whoever names the number closest to the real one is declared the winner and receives a bottle of sweets as a gift.
Game "One diaper, two diapers." Take a small gift (for example, a figurine of an angel) and place it in a medium-sized box. Then the box must be wrapped in layers with a large amount of bright paper. Wrap the last paper the way you would swaddle a baby and tie it with ribbon.
The music turns on, the guests stand in a circle and dance, passing the “baby” (box) to each other. The music stops abruptly. The one who has the box in his hands at this moment must remove one diaper from it. Then the music turns on again, and “Kinder surprise in diapers” goes around in a circle again. As a result, the gift gradually loses all its diapers. Whoever has a “naked” box in his hands when the music is turned off must take out the present and receive it as a gift as the winner of the game.
Other entertainment for holiday viewings or baby showers
Place a small plastic toy in the shape of a baby animal next to each guest's plate in advance. At the end of the show or baby shower, invite guests to turn the toy over. Whoever has a red mark on the bottom must imitate the sound made by this animal and receive a prize.
At the very beginning of the evening, ask each guest the day and month of his birth, write it down. The person whose date of birth is closest to the baby's date of birth can be given a gift or simply put on a bib that cannot be removed until the end of the holiday.
Dirty diaper. Bring as many cloth napkins as there are guests. Fold the napkins like diapers. Stain the inside of one of the napkins with mustard or chocolate. Place all the diapers in a decorated box. After guests have finished snacking, hand out diaper-shaped napkins. Whoever comes across a soiled “diaper” will receive an incentive prize.
All these entertainments can be used if you are preparing a party in honor of the birth of a child or a special event on the occasion of christening, the first anniversary of a child, etc.
Be sure to organize a party in honor of the baby. If you can't arrange a baby shower or a special viewing of a newborn, gather guests for a christening party or to celebrate the appearance of the first tooth. You should definitely celebrate one of the biggest holidays in your life!
First haircut
Hair in Russian culture symbolized strength and connection with the energy of the earth. To cut them by force meant to deprive them of strength, to gain power over a person. Therefore, this ritual was performed only on certain dates. Our ancestors cut their hair only for a specific reason. The bride had her hair cut slightly, which meant the end of her girlhood. Echoes of traditions and childhood rituals that marked different stages of growing up have also survived to this day. The child had his hair cut for the first time when he was a year old. It was believed that if you cut the hair of a child under one year old, you can “cut the tongue.” That is, he may have problems with speech.
