The birth of a child is the beginning of life, and the full moon of a child is the beginning of life. Hakka people have always attached great importance to the "full moon" of children in the family.
Picture: Traditional Hakka full moon wine
When a child is born for a full month, many places will hold a ceremony to celebrate and entertain relatives and friends, commonly known as "full moon wine". On this day, children should be given a full body bath so that they can receive everyone's blessings cleanly.
Relatives and friends come to visit the children one after another, bringing gifts. Most of the gifts are clothes, quilts, shoes, dried milk powder, nutrition products and other items. Some relatives will also send "slings" for mothers to carry their children. Some people also give evil-proof jewelry such as silver anklets, longevity locks, necklaces and bracelets, which mean to ward off disasters and seek refuge, and to live a long life. The child's grandmother will send big chickens (capons) and eggs; aunts and uncles and other in-laws will also buy children's clothes, fabrics and other gifts to congratulate.
It is a day to worship gods and entertain guests. Everyone gathers together to raise glasses and celebrate the healthy growth of their children, and have fun. After the banquet, the barber is invited to shave the child's fetal hair, which is commonly known as shaving the "full moon head".
Yongding Hakka customs of full-moon wine:
1. Baojiang wine. This is when the baby is about 28 days old. The groom's family will cook ginger wine (old ginger, red yeast rice, rice wine, old rooster), pour it into an old-fashioned tin wine pot, and carry it to the mother's house to report the ginger wine, which is also an invitation. The mother’s family goes to the groom’s house to celebrate on the full moon day. This ginger wine is also very particular. If the child is a girl, the red paper stuffed on the wine flask must be cut into a flower shape, which means "daughter"; if the baby is a boy, the red paper stuffed on the wine flask does not need to be cut into flowers and can be twisted directly. Just put it into strips and plug it into the spout of the wine bottle. Holding the wine flask, no need to mention male and female, everyone can tell at a glance that this family has a boy or girl.
2. Printed rice cake. This is something that the mother’s family must do after receiving the ginger wine from the groom’s family. The so-called "kueh" is made by grinding rice into pulp, then boiling it to make a curd, and pressing it into a flower shape with a mold. Each one is very beautiful. On the full moon day, you have to take it to the man’s house.
3. All women participate. This is another custom in our hometown. During the full moon ceremony, all participants are women. This has been the case since ancient times, and my mother can’t explain why. The natal family is also called the "maternal family" in our hometown. Women from the maternal family must participate in the full moon celebration of the married girl.
4. Pick gifts. On the day of the full moon, the maternal family will organize the three aunts, the sixth aunt, the seventh aunt and the eighth aunt to pick up several loads of gifts, including the baby's clothes and pants from head to toe, quilts, shoes and socks, toys, jewelry, cakes, big roosters, etc. Go to your husband's house in a grand way. The more the mother-in-law's family comes, the more powerful the mother-in-law's family is and the more attention they pay to the married daughter, so that the mother-in-law's family does not dare to bully the daughter-in-law.
5. Hang red. On the day of the full moon, when the mother-in-law’s family arrives, the mother-in-law’s family will set off firecrackers to greet them. Those who pay attention will go a few hundred meters away and start lighting firecrackers. The mother-in-law’s family will follow the firecracker route all the way to the mother-in-law’s house. This momentum will be known to others as soon as they hear the sound. It's the "maternal family" who is here. The first thing grandma does when she gets home is to give the full-month baby a bath, then put on the red bellyband grandma brought, hang a longevity lock, and press a red envelope, which means "to drive away evil spirits" and let the baby grow up healthily. Grandma would also say some auspicious words while hanging the red, such as wishing the baby good health and fast growth. After this series was completed, everyone came to the table and started drinking. At this time, the full-month baby should be taken out and shown to the maternal family one by one. The mother will toast on behalf of the baby, which means that the baby "recognizes birth" for the first time.
6. Return the gift. After the banquet in the afternoon, the mother-in-law's family is going home. The mother-in-law's family will be able to return the gifts one by one with chicken wine, large chicken drumsticks, cakes, etc., and send the "mother-in-law" on her way with a big salute. At this point, the full moon period is over, which also means that the mother can go out for postpartum activities, and the baby can also come out of the room to see the sun.