The same idea in 18 places, grouped by region. Each entry is a short portrait; follow the link for the full tradition.
Many Hindu families hold a naming rite on the eleventh or twelfth day, and a first-rice-feeding, annaprashan, at about six months. New mothers are cared for with ghee, herbs and massage, and sometimes return to their parents' home for the birth.
Annaprashana, being writtenOn Bali the baby is not allowed to touch the ground for 105 days, and is carried and treated as a divine being newly arrived. Javanese families hold a selametan and shave the baby's hair.
Read: SlametanZuo yuezi, or sitting the month, is a month of rest in which the mother stays in, eats warming food such as ginger and sesame oil chicken, and avoids cold water. At one month the family gives out red eggs and ginger.
Read: Postpartum confinementOmiyamairi is the first shrine visit, about a month after birth, when the baby is carried in a long robe by a grandmother. At 100 days, okuizome is a ceremonial first meal with rice, soup and a smooth stone for strong teeth.
Read: MiyamairiBaek-il is the party for the baby's 100th day, an old milestone of survival, with rice cakes shared with neighbours. The first birthday, dol, includes the doljabi, in which the baby chooses an object that is read as a sign of the future.
Read: DoljanchiA baby is laid in a wooden cradle, the beshik, at a family celebration called beshik toy, when relatives bring gifts and the child is wrapped and tied in for the first time. A feast of plov follows for the guests.
Culture of Uzbekistan, being writtenA baby boy is circumcised on the eighth day at the brit milah, and a girl is named at a simhat bat or a similar rite. Friends gather for a meal, and many bring gifts and food.
Brit milah, being writtenMuslim families whisper the call to prayer into the newborn's ear, place a softened date on the palate in the tahnik, and sacrifice an animal, the aqiqah, a week later, with the meat shared among family and the poor. The family distributes the meat to relatives and the poor, and the baby's head is often shaved at the same time.
Aqiqah, being writtenMothers are visited by neighbours for forty days, drinking lohusa serbeti, a spiced red sherbet. Blue evil-eye beads and a small bible or Quran are pinned to the baby's clothes.
Lohusa ÅŸerbeti, being writtenOn the seventh day families hold the naming feast, with couscous and often a sacrificed sheep, and the mother is given gifts of gold and sweets. In some regions henna is put on the baby's feet.
Culture of Morocco, being writtenYoruba families hold an Isomoloruko, the naming ceremony, on the eighth day, in which items such as honey, salt and water are tasted by the baby and described as wishes for a sweet and flavoursome life. Many families also dress in matching cloth called aso ebi.
Read: Yoruba naming ceremonyAn Orthodox boy is baptised on the 40th day, a girl on the 80th, and the mother is kept in seclusion and fed rich food until then. The ceremony brings the community and a priest to the home.
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, being writtenChristenings take place in church, with the baby in a long family gown and the godparents making promises on the child's behalf. A christening cake and a family party follow. The baby shower has spread from North America.
Christening, being writtenThe christening, or bapteme, is followed by dragees, sugared almonds in blue or pink, handed out to guests. The custom of the cigogne, the stork, is used to announce births at the doorstep.
Dragée, being writtenThe baby shower is a party for the expectant mother given before the birth, with gifts and games. In Native American communities there are ceremonial first laughs, blessings and naming rites that vary by nation.
Read: Baby showerThe cuarentena is a forty-day period of rest after birth, supported by the family and the older women. Baptism, with compadres, is the key social event, and often involves a party with sweets and bolo, coins thrown to children.
Read: CompadreFamilies give a chá de bebê before the birth and later a christening with godparents, who become part of the family. Many also use traditions from African-Brazilian religion, such as protective baths and offerings.
Read: Baby showerMaori families bury the whenua, the placenta, in ancestral land, tying the child to the place. A family also gathers to bless the baby and recite descent at a naming ceremony.
Tangata whenua, being writtenWritten by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
Every week: one tradition from somewhere new, what is being celebrated around the world this week, and one idea explained.