Chinese baby traditions

All cultures have a lot of traditions or superstitions around the birth of children and, over the last few months, I’ve been learning some of the many beliefs held by many Chinese people. This is because Vee and I have some dear young Chinese friends Hua and Zhihao who had a baby on 25 April. The boy’s Chinese name is Qiyuan and his English name is Joshua. He is a wonderful little fella and I love cuddling him.
I blogged about his birth at the time. Since then, we’ve visited the family often and each time learn new things about the Chinese approach to babies. For instance, the mother does not leave the house for the first month; on an auspicious day indicated by a special calendar, all the baby’s hair is shaved off; and, on the 100th day of his life, there is a special celebration.


Joshua (he’s the little one) after his first haircut
looking like Bruce Willis in the film “Die Hard 4.0”

You can learn more about Chinese baby traditions here.


3 Comments

  • Sharon

    Well, as a midwife, I was once told off by a Chinese grandma for opening the window (it was summer and the baby was boiling hot, as was mummy!) – as apparently evil spirits may whisk the baby away. I have never done it since!!
    I *love* birth customs, I find them fascinating.

  • zhihao

    sharon,
    Chinese grandma is always toooo much cautious about opening windows, which i don’t agree.
    in my home town, new mum doesn’t go out for a month, as roger stated. and, they even wear a hell of a lot, no matter what the weather is. but, their belief is: wind can go through (hurt) new mum whose bones were open to give birth to the baby and thefore produce long term disease in the future.
    but, anyhow, the ‘grandma’ shouldn’t tell a midwife off…

  • zhihao

    what i tried to say was:
    When in Rome, do as the Romans do.