Newborn Baby in Spain

"When my baby is sleeping that's when I think 'Wow, I made it'" - Anonymous

Baby or infants in Latin words called as El Nino. In Spain, there's no traditional ritual of celebrating the newborn baby. But, there are one festival that they celebrate every year special for babies which is Baby Jumping festival. Some might think that the baby is the one who are going to jump right? nah, obviously the babies cannot jump. 

This festival recalls the eternal fight between good and evil and is believed to put the babies on a path to a good life. According to the tradition, parents put their one-year-old child on a mattress at the central square of a small village. Then, a man dressed in a cheerful yellow costume meant to symbolize the devil, takes a running start and jump over the babies 

Man with cheerful yellow costume jump over the babies

Newborn Baby in Bali

"She never quite leaves her children at home, even when she doesn't take them along" 

- M. C. Banning

Ritual of celebrating newborn baby in Bali is a bit different rather than normal custom that practice by Indonesians. In Bali, they have their own specific ritual which is Nyabutan Ceremony. This ceremony means the baby first touches the Mother Earth. 

Nyabutan ritual

Babies in Bali are not allowed to touch the ground until they are three months old. The first month is believed that baby's connection to spirit is keep tacked as they are not ready to touch the earth yet. 

During this ceremony, the family invited a priest to their family temple where they provide offerings to the Sun God and the Five Elements. The baby is then blessed with holy water and her feet are allowed to touch the ground. The parents then will carry the baby three times around the water representing the passage of birth, life and death.

Newborn Baby in Japan

"Without my children, my house would be clean and my wallet would be full but my HEART would be empty" - Anonymous

As we all know, Japan is known as land of the rising sun and well developed from the aspects of their technology and building also their well-preserved culture. In Japanese culture of celebrating newborn baby, they are few ritual that they practicing for the newborn.

SHICHIYA-NO-WAI (Seventh Day Celebration)

This ritual is held on the seventh night from the baby’s birth. In the morning of this day, the family of the new born baby would offer a stack of rice cake on sanbou(square stand made of plain wood for putting offerings to the altar) with noshi(narrow hexagon paper) displaying it in tokonoma(alcove) and celebrate with red rice

MEIMEI (naming the baby)

A document of naming is written on a thick Japanese paper by folded in half horizontally and then in three. The baby’s name would be written in the center, his/her birth day and names of the parents on the left side

A document that contain the baby's name, their birth date and their parents name

MIYAMAIRI (shrine visit)

Naming should be done within seven days after the baby’s birth. Afterwards, the family would visit a tutelary deity to thank and to inform their baby’s birth. In the old times, they used to give visits 120 days after birth but today, boys usually visit on the 32^nd day, girls on the 33^rd day.

The baby and the family visit the tutelary deity (the one who wearing orange silk)

KUIZOME (first meal)

It has been a ritual since the Ashikaga period (14^th-16^th century) to pray for the child’s safe growth. It is done on the 120^th day after baby’s birth. The baby will eat a simple Japanese meal on this day. They prayed to keep away famine from the baby

Kuizome - first time meal for the baby

Newborn Baby in Egypt

"The creative adult is the child who survived" - Anonymous

Welcoming a newborn in Egypt is accompanied with pride and great joy. Ritual that has been practiced for ages in Egypt are called as The Sebou (meaning the seventh) one of Egypt’s oldest and most cherished celebrations. The number seven is considered is considered a lucky number.

When the baby was born, the baby is washed in warm water and dressed in a long white cotton dress. On the seventh day or the Sebou celebration, the event starts by scattering salt on the mother and around the house to keep the evil eye away.

Sebou celebration on the seventh day

The mother will steps over the baby seven times without touching it, while older women make loud noise to make the baby aware of sounds. Grandparents shake the baby horizontally and give him orders to obey only their family. 

Newborn Baby in China

"The joys of motherhood are never fully experienced until the children are in bed" - Anonymous

Chinese parents are the true originators of the diaper-free baby trend. Usually, baby during their few weeks old still need their parents help because they are still small and not even capable enough to clean up themselves. Different in China, when the babies are just a few weeks old, mother hold their baby above the commode and teach them to do their “business” in command.

Commode - a piece of plastic containing concealed chamber pot where the babies do their "business" 

Sensitive to tiny bladders and the need to rush when its go time, Chinese mothers dress their babies in split-crotch pants, even when on the go. Pee-pee emergencies can be handled swiftly as the mother will holds their child in a squatting position with no need for unbuttoning, unzipping, or even un-tucking.

Split-crotch pant

The split allows the pants to be opened when your baby is held in arms with their legs opened or when toddler squats or sits on potty 

I did agree with this method that Chinese moms practice from time to time. This is because, it teaches the baby independence to use the potty without needing to remove their clothing.