Zhangzhou residents have always attached great importance to childbirth, and women must be given every possible care after pregnancy. Due to old customs that favored boys over girls, after giving birth, women were often treated completely differently depending on whether they gave birth to a boy or a girl. Since the 1970s, urban residents have only had one child, and the old custom of favoring sons over daughters has gradually faded away. However, this old custom still exists seriously in rural areas.
1. Pregnancy
(1) Prayer to God
When a woman is pregnant, it is said that she is "happy" or "pregnant", and her husband's family and her natal family must prepare incense and candles as offerings. In the temple, pray to gods and Buddhas, pray for a boy, and make wishes in return. During every year and festival, pregnant women and their parents’ families should wish their ancestors and gods to give birth to a baby, and wish them a smooth delivery and a safe mother and child.
(2) Taboos
Zhangzhou folk believe that after a woman becomes pregnant, the "earth god" will protect the fetus in the pregnant woman's room. Therefore, family members are not allowed to put nails or stickers on the walls and stoves, are not allowed to pour cigarette ashes or boiling water on the ground, and are not allowed to move the furniture in the maternity room. If you really need to move it, you must first dust it with a broom to drive away any earth gods that may be hiding inside, so as not to hurt the earth gods. People with filial piety and those born in the year of Tiger are not allowed to enter the room of a pregnant woman to avoid offending the Earth God.
Pregnant women are not allowed to do heavy work or bathe in cold water to avoid harming the fetus. Do not use sharp tools to cut or do needlework on the bed to avoid rupture of the fetus's skin or incomplete facial features. Do not eat rabbit meat to prevent the fetus from missing a lip (hare lip); do not plug bottles in the room to prevent the fetus's seven orifices from being blocked; do not watch the slaughter of livestock to avoid the fetus having incomplete limbs; do not watch puppet shows to prevent the fetus from becoming like a puppet; do not watch Monkeys, to prevent their children from suffering "monkey damage" (rickets) in the future; they are not allowed to go out at night to avoid offending the "White Tiger God"; and they are not allowed to participate in weddings and weddings, so as not to offend the Earth God.
(3) Gifts from the maternal family
After a woman is pregnant, her maternal family will give her daughter orange cakes and other sweets to eat, which means "eating sweets will give birth to a son" (son). When the birth date of a daughter is approaching, her mother's family will send eggs, noodles, baby's belly and diapers, which is commonly known as "birth promotion".
2. Delivery
(1) Delivery room
There is a saying in Zhangzhou that "it is better to lend a house to the dead than to live in a dead body". It is better to lend the house to the dead than to lend it to others. When giving birth to a child, the daughter is no exception, because she is afraid that the feng shui will be taken away by her grandson. In some places, if someone else gives birth at home, the way to break the bad luck is to bring the baby to be weighed.
When a pregnant woman gives birth, all cabinet doors and drawers at home should be opened to facilitate the delivery of the baby. The doors and windows of the mother's room must be closed during delivery and should be kept closed for a month to prevent the mother from suffering from "monthly wind" (gout).
(2) Midwifery
In the old days, midwives were often used to deliver babies. After the midwife delivered the baby, the mother’s family would give red envelopes as a reward. It is believed that if the baby's afterbirth is eaten by animals, it will be harmful to the baby, so the baby's afterbirth must be put into a special clay pot and covered with lime, which is called a "yi (pronounced uī1) pot". The clothes jar is hidden under the mother's bed and buried outdoors until the baby boy reaches one year old. Later, people gradually did not pay attention to afterbirth, and the tile kilns no longer fired clothes jars. The afterbirths of both male and female babies were wrapped in straw paper and buried, or they were tied between two tiles and tied with a rope and thrown into the river. Nowadays, most births are carried out in hospitals or clinics, and the afterbirth is often collected by the hospital to be used as medicinal materials.
In the old days, when a baby was born, a peach branch was placed on the window sill or on the bed to "ward off evil spirits"; at the same time, people whose zodiac signs conflicted with the baby's were not allowed to enter the room to visit.
People generally feed coptis decoction to newborn babies, saying it can eliminate fetal fire and whet their appetite. This custom continues to this day.
(3) Announcement of birth
When a baby boy is born, the parents will kill a chicken and stew wine to pray to the ancestors and gods, and pray for the safety of mother and child.
After the baby is born, the husband's family must "report the birth" to the mother's natal family. If a baby boy is born, a gift cake is given to announce the good news. In some places, "chicken wine" (stewed with ginger, sesame oil, brown sugar, dried longan, rooster and wine) is given.
Father-in-law and mother-in-law want to send gifts to congratulate the baby. The gifts are delivered on the twelfth day after the baby is born. They are usually a cage of live chickens (4, 8 or 12), a cage of charcoal, a jar of wine and a pack of baby clothes. , or add eggs, fish, pork, and brown sugar to make 8 or 12 items. If a baby girl is born, the gifts given by the mother's family are far less rich than when a baby boy is born. Some only give pig belly, which means to "change the belly" of the daughter so that the next child can give birth to a boy. Nowadays, the idea of ??favoring boys over girls among urban residents has faded or disappeared, and there is basically no difference between boys and girls.
In the old days, after a baby was born, he had to ask someone to tell his fortune. If the birth date was not good, he had to recognize a beggar as his adopted father, or worship an old tree as his adopted father (for those who lacked wood in the five elements), or go to a temple to make a wish to a Bodhisattva. Godson, hoping to bring him up safely.
3. Confinement
The mother should stay in her own room within one month after giving birth, which is commonly known as "confinement". In the old days, if a baby girl was born, even the mother's husband was not allowed to visit other people's homes for a month. During this period, as long as the baby survives safely, these etiquette must be performed.
(1) Maternal taboos
Old customs believe that if a mother gets sick "within the month", she will have to wait until the next delivery to cure the root cause of the disease; if the mother dies within the "month" , you will have to go to the underworld to suffer the sin of soaking in the blood pool, and you will have to wait until your son becomes an adult to perform Buddhist services and recite the "Blood Basin Sutra" before you can transcend. Therefore, mothers should take careful care during confinement period.
In addition to feeding the baby during the confinement period, the mother can only rest and rest. She cannot work, which will affect her hands, feet and waist, so as to avoid backache and bone pain in the future; she should also not do puerperium to affect her eyes, so as not to weaken her vision in the future. Pregnant women should not go outdoors, especially on cloudy days or at night. If it is really necessary to leave the house, you must wear a hat or hold an umbrella, and keep your head from seeing the sky. Pregnant women are not allowed to come into contact with raw water and can only wash with boiled water to avoid getting "watery" (infection); they are not allowed to wash their hair to avoid having a headache (headache) in the future.
After giving birth, mothers should take supplements to "press the abdomen", usually dry longan tea, and Korean ginseng if they are well-off. From now on, I will eat warm and tonic foods throughout the month, mainly "chicken wine". Avoid eating cold vegetables such as radish and cabbage hearts.
The mother's bedpan and changed clothes must be taken out and washed, and they must be covered when passing in front of the incense burner in the hall to avoid offending the gods. Clean clothes and trousers should not be hung high on the road to prevent people from passing under them and suffering bad luck. Pregnant women are also not allowed to enter the temple. If they need to pray to gods, their family members should go to the temple to pray on their behalf.
(2) Making "Three Chaos"
On the third day after the baby is born, parents make glutinous rice and oily rice (commonly known as "rice cake"), one bowl is sweet and the other is salty. , sent to the maternal home. In addition, bowls of fried rice, half sweet and half salty, are served to relatives and neighbors.
The baby's grandmother and aunt came to congratulate the baby. The grandmother sent a "horseshoe cake" (also known as "red fragrant cake") and two pieces of baby clothes, and the aunt also wanted to give gifts.
On this day, the baby will be washed with fragrant soup made from boiled osmanthus water and put into new clothes. The baby will be held by the elders to meet relatives and friends, who will send red envelopes for congratulations. At the same time, sacrifices and sweet wine should be prepared to worship the "bed mother-in-law" and ask her to bless the healthy growth of the baby.
In some places, on the third day after a baby boy is born, the elders and midwives are invited to drink "three dynasties wine".
(3) Doing the "Twelve Dynasties"
In some places, on the twelfth day after the baby is born, chicken and wine are given to the mother's parents and brothers, and the baby's grandmother and each roommate are given a gift. The uncle wants to send back double the live chickens and wine. Grandma also gave me thread, a small velvet hat for the baby, and a few feet of homespun cloth for changing pads. The husband's family should prepare wine and meat to entertain those who visit and give gifts, and give gifts in return.
(4) Full Moon Ceremony
One month after the baby is born, the mother can carry the baby out of the room to see the baby; at the same time, the baby's fetal hair should be shaved, and the fetal hair should be wrapped in red paper to hide it good. There is also a bath for the baby. In some places, two pomelo leaves and eggshells are placed in the bathtub. After bathing, the water is poured on the roots of the big tree. In some places, the elders have to carry the baby out and walk around the house, while the children lead the way by knocking bamboo poles on the ground, which is called "catching the Harrier".
On this day, parents should prepare chicken and wine to worship the gods, and make sugar dumplings to give to relatives, friends and neighbors. The recipients should give back a bowl of rice or red envelopes as congratulations. Grandma also wants to send thread noodles, rabbit ear hats and tiger head hats with silver jewelry, and a loose curtain.
On this day, parents will also host a banquet, commonly known as "full moon wine", and guests at the banquet will be given gifts.
4. Miscellaneous parenting customs
(1) Four months old
When a baby is four months old, parents should make sacrifices to worship the gods, prepare pig's feet, etc. Eight-color gifts for the Yue family. The baby was taken back to her parents' home by her mother that day. The natal family will sacrifice the gifts from the husband's family to the gods. Grandma ties two big cakes on the baby's chest, which is called "holding back the waves (saliva)", and takes the baby to play outdoors, cross bridges, and makes the sound of chasing eagles, which is called "making courage". On this day, let the baby sit on a chair (a children's chair made of bamboo or wood) for the first time.
When the daughter returns to her husband's house, her mother's family will make peach cakes for her daughter to take back as a "accompaniment". At the same time, she will give back baby clothes, shoes and hats, shawls, swaddling scarves, flower handkerchiefs, bottom pants, and silver feet. Rings and pig trotters, rice krispie treats, pomegranate flowers and other gifts.
(2) Making celebrations
When a child turns one year old, the family will make red turtle cakes, hold sacrifices to worship the gods, and use red turtle cakes and cooked eggs dyed with red shells. Gifts are given to relatives, friends and neighbors, and some even host banquets.
When the grandson spends his birthday, grandma will give gifts such as thread noodles, new clothes, tiger-head shoes, Tianguan locks, bracelets, and anklets.
When the child is one year old, he puts on new clothes, hangs the heavenly official lock, and sits in the big 犊□ (yinliang) in front of the divine case. Adults place abacus, books, pen and ink, swords, seeds, prayer beads, copper coins, food and other items in front of the child. If it is a girl, replace them with powder, needlework, scales, rulers, etc., and then observe which item the child grabs first, so as to This predicts the child's future career, wealth, poverty, wisdom and stupidity, corruption, diligence, laziness, etc. This is commonly known as "grasping Zhou" or "testing Xu".
(3) Removing acne scabs
In the old days, smallpox was a serious disease that crippled children. Recovery from smallpox was tantamount to coming back to life, so a grand ceremony was held, called " "Linzhu (smallpox) scab".
The parents cooked a large bowl of black beans and soybeans and invited several boys to come and watch. Let the child who has recovered from the acne and scabs sit on a small stool in the middle of a large dragonfly. Place a bronze mirror on top of his head. Pour the cooked beans on the bronze mirror and let it roll down onto the bronze mirror from all four sides. Loudly shouting, "It's a lump, it's a lump!" The boys onlookers picked up the cooked beans and ate them, which is commonly known as "picking beans and picking beans."
After the popularization of cowpox vaccination, the custom of getting boils continued. On the twelfth day after a child was vaccinated with cowpox, his mother would hold a ritual of getting boils. In the 1980s, cowpox vaccination was stopped, but the custom of getting boils was not completely abandoned. Some people also held the ritual of getting boils after their children recovered from chickenpox.
(4) Change of washing
Folks believe that young children are "pure flowers" and are not allowed to come into contact with "unclean" things. In case they are touched by unclean things ( (Yin Qi) (who commits evil) must be "reformed" in a certain way. There is also a palm-sized printed "Explanation of the Sutra" among the people. There are several specific ways to "change washing":
1. Use a bucket to swing in the well seven times, pick up a bucket of water, and put seven grains of purseth sand from the three-way intersection into the water ( (coarse sand), and pick the heart buds of seven kinds of flowers including pomegranate, orchid, jasmine, etc. and put them into the water. Then dip the pomegranate branch into the flower heart water and scratch the child's chest three times and the back four times, and say loudly "wipe" Wipe it away! Qingcai!" As the saying goes, evil spirits can be removed.
2. Burn a few longevity coins or wood shavings in the toilet, let the children jump over the fire, and then go directly back to the room and lie down on the bed without turning back.
3. Take the child to the wild, find a piece of grass that is as tall as the child, cut it and scratch it a few times on the child, and at the same time say loudly "big man" (meaning "big man"). auspicious words such as "grow up fast".
(5) Repel lice and fleas
In the old days, poor sanitary conditions allowed fleas and lice to breed and bite children. When thunder sounds for the first time every year, parents will ask their children to stand at the gate, take off their clothes and shake them out, and say: "Spring thunder (Yin Dan, meaning loud), will cause fleas and lice to crash into the fields." As the saying goes. I thought it could get rid of lice and fleas.
(6) Hundreds of Rice and Hundreds of Common Clothes
In the old days, when children were sick, people often had to ask for some rice from neighboring households to cook for the children. "Food for a hundred families" means asking for a small piece of cloth from every household in the neighborhood to sew it into a "hundred cloth clothes" for the children to wear, thinking that the children will be "easy to feed".
(7) Gift from Aunt
The first teeth that appear in babies are usually pairs of incisors. If there is only one tooth, it is called "orphan tooth" locally. The baby's aunt should give the baby a small bamboo stool, which is believed to ensure the normal development of the baby's teeth in the future. The hair of infants and young children grows unevenly, and some areas on the back of the head cannot grow hair, forming a long strip, commonly known as "Xinggu Road". The baby's aunt must give the baby a pair of shoes to make the child's hair grow evenly.
5. Children's Taboos
When a baby is born with incisors, it is commonly known as "eating its parents". This is considered a bad omen and must be removed by someone and a red envelope must be given to the baby. People who pull teeth to ensure they are safe and sound.
Before the baby is one month old, it is forbidden to see pregnant women, brides, patients, orphans, strangers and people with filial piety.
When a baby sneezes, it is a sign of illness. Adults must immediately say "good luck, eat a hundred and two" to get rid of it.
When in front of a baby, you are not allowed to praise it as "fat" or "heavy". You can only say "bubble" (fat) or "bubble milk".
After the baby is born, if it cries a lot and is sick, or if the birth date does not match the parents, the parents will regard it as difficult to raise, and they will have to give it to the gods as their son, or even have to worship a beggar as their adoptive father. When such babies grow up, they cannot call their parents directly, but must be called "uncle", "uncle", "mom", "aunt", or even their parents' names.
It is commonly believed that if young children sleep with the elderly, their vitality and blood will be sucked by the elderly, which is detrimental to their growth.
Rickets, also known as "monkey damage", is commonly believed to be related to monkeys, so young children are not allowed to watch monkey shows or come into contact with monkeys. When young children are present, adults are not allowed to say the word "monkey" or mention topics related to monkeys; if they really need to say the word "monkey", use "young (very fine) furry" instead.
Children are not allowed to get under the crotch of adults, not to be crossed by others, and not to walk under women's pants hanging to dry, so as to avoid "degeneration" (stunted development and failure to grow) in the future.
Preschool children are not allowed to eat chicken feet. It is believed that eating chicken feet will tear the book and make it difficult to read when they grow up. You are also not allowed to eat old hen meat, especially chicken tail vertebrae, because you think eating it will make you sick, your skin will become thicker, and your mind will become stupid.
Parents prohibit children from wearing two hats to avoid suffering from dysentery when they grow up.
The moon is called "Yue Niang" among the people. If a child points his hand directly at the Moon Niang and is disrespectful, he will be "blamed" by the Moon Niang and his ears will be cut at night.
Children’s deciduous teeth that fall out during tooth replacement must not be thrown away, otherwise new teeth will not grow properly. When a deciduous tooth falls out, you should stand upright on your feet and then throw it away. The upper gum teeth should be thrown under the bed, and the lower gum teeth should be thrown on the top of the mosquito net (or roof). It is believed that only in this way can new teeth grow neatly.
Children are not allowed to whistle at night to avoid attracting ghosts.
6. Coming out of the garden
When a child reaches the age of 15, he must go through the "coming out of the garden" ceremony, which is equivalent to the ancient crown ceremony and hairpin ceremony for adults. It is commonly known as "going out of the mother-in-law's palace". The boy also needs to make a new set of blue cloth clothes and trousers, wear them and treasure them.
Folklore says that when children are young, they are taken care of by Hua Gong and Hua Lao in the garden. When boys and girls turn 15, they must choose an auspicious day to rise in the garden. On that day, after taking a bath, the children put on the new clothes sent by their grandmothers, prepared glutinous rice, sugar rice and paper-made "flower pavilions". The boys added a rooster, and the girls added a hen. They went to the temple to worship the "Empress Zhusheng". ". After praying, the child wears straw sandals, carries a backpack, and holds an umbrella. The elder or the abbot of the temple holds the other end of the umbrella and leads the child 12 times around the altar from left to right, and then burns the flower pavilion and paper ingots, which is called "pulling out the altar." garden".
After the children leave the temple, they have to walk in a large circle alone on the street or in the fields before going home. On this day, parents will invite relatives to a banquet, and family members will ask those who leave the garden to sit in the honorary seat. From then on, the child jumped out of the garden and became an adult.
After the founding of New China, scientific knowledge became popularized and superstitious customs were gradually abolished. After the family planning policy was implemented in the 1970s, the people gradually formed the concepts of fewer children, eugenics, and good education, as well as scientific and civilized birth customs.