What is the moral of the catch of the week?

The symbolism of Catch the Week Book: will read books, suitable for scholars and experts. Pen and ink: will become a writer and painter. Seal: have power, will be a big official. Abacus/Calculator: will be a merchant, accountant, suitable for business. Coin: will be rich in the future. Chicken leg: blessed, means you will have no worries about food and clothing in your life. Ruler: will become a designer or architect. Celery: represents hard work. Straw: suitable for agricultural work. Sword: can be an officer or a policeman. Stethoscope: suitable for medical work.

Catching the Week:

Catching the Week, a traditional Chinese custom, is now a custom in East Asian countries to foretell the future of a baby when the child turns one year old. When a newborn baby turns one year old, various items are placed in front of the child for him or her to grab, and traditionally the common items include pens, ink, paper, inkstones, abacuses, coins, and books. It is also known as "test child", "test week" and "hold birthday". It is a very important ceremony in the weekly rite of passage, which was first seen in the North and South Dynasties period of ancient custom, and circulated in the folklore. When a baby is born for one year, it is called "week", now it is called "weekly", and on the day of weekly, the whole family not only wants to celebrate, but also holds a grand ceremony of weekly grasping. In the classical masterpiece "Dream of the Red Chamber". Has also written to the "week" this ritual. Jia Baoyu caught the rouge hairpin ring on the day of the anniversary.

Note:

1. The time is before lunch, an hour or so is appropriate, so that the child can have enough time to choose items.

2. Choose items that are consistent in color and similar in size to make it easier for the child to grab them, preferably items that the child will touch for the first time or items with similar familiarity, and be careful not to choose fragile items such as glassware.

3. Wherever the scratching takes place, it is recommended that the items be arranged in a fan shape. Depending on the importance of the items, they are placed from the center to the sides, and parents can place the items they most want their children to have in the very center.

4. The item that the child holds the longest can be the child's choice, as this is the only way to see what the child prefers. Parents should watch carefully while the child is grabbing the item, but do not allow friends or relatives to disturb the child. For accurate results, it is best to keep track of the time, and you can usually let your child grab twice.

Historical status:

The documentary records of the week, the folk this "week" custom, can be traced back to the period of the North and South Dynasties. A number of writings on the history of the custom of catching the week, said that this custom at least in the North and South Dynasties has been generally popular in the Jiangnan region, to the Sui and Tang dynasties gradually popularized the whole country. During the Tang and Song dynasties, this custom was spread from Jiangnan to the whole of China, and gradually became popular throughout the country, and was called "test child's first birthday" or "first birthday of the week". Song Dynasty Meng Yuanlao "Tokyo Dreaming Records" - child-rearing recorded that: folk after the birth of a child, "to the next birthday, listing the tray on the ground, grand fruit and wood, food, official grants, pens and inkstones, calculating scales, such as scrolls and needle and thread application of the object, the view of its first flickers, as a sign, called the 'test one year old', the child's rites of passage. " In the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, this custom was more prevalent, called "period Yang", and only in the Qing Dynasty was there the name of "catching the week" and "trying the week". The nineteenth episode of "The Legend of Heroes and Heroines" recorded an anecdote in detail: "This year is your birthday, I went to your parents to congratulate you. On that day, your parents set up a lot of needles and threads, knives and rulers, cosmetics and hairpins, pens and ink, books, arbitrators and abacuses, and even gold and silver money and so on, and bought many juggling goods on the temple, and invited me to go in and watch you catching the week together." At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, the Beijing folk still prevails in this kind of children's "catch the week child" ceremony. Although, the child's birthday and not set up a tent to do the banquet, also do not invite guests, but all the close relatives are coincidentally routinely to congratulate, party a little. Generally do not send big gifts (such as congratulatory hanging scrolls, gold and silver jewelry) only to buy some cakes and food or toys for children. In addition, in the custom, where the child first met the elders, all with a white thread, tied to the coin, to the child around the neck, called "hanging thread" (this gift usually also applies). Nowadays, many places when the child turns one year old, there are still "catch the week" custom, but there has been no superstitious content, purely a fun and funny game to help the child's anniversary of the joy of happiness. And this, too, can be said to be our ancient folk culture of a "legacy".

Customs of other ethnic groups: Korean

In the child-rearing customs, there are for the "God of birth" to pay tribute to the degree of "three sevens", "one hundred days" feast, "Catch the week" and other rituals, of which "catch the week" is the most grand. Infants over the birthday, means that in the road of life peacefully through the first spring, summer, fall and winter, to host a feast to celebrate a, a congratulations on the child's healthy growth, the second to send the adults of the child's good expectations. Celebration of the first birthday, mainly including to the "three gods" (also known as "birth god") to pay tribute to the baby to wear a new birthday dress, to catch the week, share the birthday cake and other customs. The day before a child's birthday, the first step is to pay homage to the three gods. A bowl of rice, seaweed soup, and "jinshui" (well water or spring water that is pumped in the morning) are placed on each side of a small table, which is called the "table of the three gods". A bowl of steamed rice flour cake is placed next to the table, and the child's mother or grandmother will pray to the table while bowing in reverence and giving thanks. On the day of the birthday, the child is dressed in a new, colorful birthday outfit. Boys are usually dressed in pink pants, a colorful sleeved jacket, a blue kanji, and country flower socks. The girl's clothing is colorful sleeve jacket, red dress, feet wear country flower cloth socks. Both boys and girls wear a "1st birthday bag" that symbolizes longevity and a "1st birthday bag" with peonies, chrysanthemums, and the characters for "longevity" and "good fortune" on it. "The first birthday bag In the "first birthday bag" of the pocket rope, but also bolted to the silver makeup knife, silver axe, silver pin stolen goods and other various objects.

Catching the week is the main ritual to celebrate the first birthday. First in a kang table on the knife, scissors, bows, pens, books, lines, money, abacus and other things and several kinds of cakes, fruits, called the first birthday table. The cakes placed on the 1st birthday table are mainly white snow cakes (steamed rice cakes), red sorghum cakes, rice cakes, and rice dumplings. The white snow cake means that the heart is white, the red sorghum cake means that the ghosts and evil spirits are driven away, the rice cake symbolizes the toughness of the will, the dumplings (without fillings) symbolize a full belly and an open mind, and the rainbow symbolizes a bright future. After setting up the first birthday table, put a foot of cotton noodles or fold a blanket in front of the table, and then the child's father or grandmother to carry the child to the top, so that he or she can casually grasp the things on the table, and around the table sweeping the ground to move around the place to grasp a few times, to be the first to grasp the things to judge his or her future aspirations. If the first thing to grab is a sword, bow, it is an omen that the future can have martial arts; if it is a book and pen, it is an omen that the future will be literate; if it is a cake or cake and so on, it is an omen that the future will not have a great success. "At the end of the festival, the cakes are distributed to friends and neighbors. Anyone who receives a first birthday cake is required to return some gifts as a token of appreciation. The Koreans celebrate a child's first birthday with a single event, "Chase the first birthday". When a child grabs something on the first birthday table, the relatives who watch from the sidelines, while praising the child with different words, place some coins on the table to congratulate the child on his behavior.

The Hui:

The weekly ceremony is also called the age ceremony, the Hui commonly known as the year. This is a more common ritual among the Hui people, especially some of the Hui people have the first child, or some fertility to lead other people's children, is more important to this ritual. The Hui children's ceremony is relatively simple. When a child turns one year old, the child's parents, grandparents and grandmothers are all in a joyful mood, and on the first night or the morning of the anniversary, they are busy, laughing and preparing the birthday cake. The Hui people are very particular about the birthday cake, and use raw materials such as excellent flour, red dates, sweet bean seeds powder, and sesame oil. The cake must be made round, about three or four inches thick, about one foot in diameter, with a steamer. Speaking of thick and generous. Patterns should be new and beautiful, generally composed of six to eight triangles. The pattern on each triangle must be made of peony, plum blossom, lotus and other flowers, avoid using cats, dogs, rabbits, sheep and other animals like patterns. A large red date is placed in the center of each flower. The cake is made white and soft, and tastes fragrant and sweet. Cake-cutting people should choose to invite elders or old people. Conditional Hui people also slaughter chicken, sheep, do cold noodles, braised five spices Lai. Because the Hui people are distributed in all parts of the country, do the custom of the year cake is not exactly the same. In some places, the Hui in the day of the age of catching, only to eat the age of cake, do not eat rice, noodles and other staple foods. On the day of catching the year, they also invite relatives, friends and neighbors to their homes to eat the year-old cakes. The guests usually bring toys and other small gifts for the children to express their congratulations. When the ceremony is held, the host should put a big red table, on which he likes to put pens, brushes, notebooks and small airplanes, boats, knives, swords and other toys made of paper, etc. After that, the mother or the father carries the child to the table and lets the child grab them at will. Guests and the whole family gather around the child in the hope that the child will catch a more desirable thing. According to Hui customs, if the child grabbed the pen and book, it means that the future is a can write and draw, talented literati, scholars; if you pick up the sword, that the child must be a future swordplay, martial arts warrior; if both grabbed the pen and sword, it is believed that the child will become a general of both military and civil affairs, to catch the insignificant small toys, etc., is considered to be an eating and drinking, greedy for peace and quiet, Can not be talented "elm"; if the child does not catch anything, they say he (she) is a dull, nothing accomplished idiots, mediocre and so on. When the child grabbed a pen, a book and other things, the child's parents joyful, happy, high up the child to celebrate and laugh, the onlookers clapped and applauded! After the ceremony, the host will bring out the age of the cake, hot chowder, and the guests will eat a meal together, congratulate the child year after year, auspicious and safe, healthy growth. Conditional Hui families, and then every year in the child's birthday, are steamed a year-old cake, within their own families to celebrate, commemorate, do not invite guests. This custom until the girl grew to 9 years old, the boy grew to 12 years old.

Bajun:

The Bajun in East Africa are popular with a similar Chinese "catching the week" method of naming, that is, to be pre-selected many names written on the leaves, so that babies after seven days of life to catch their own, catch which name will be used; Central Africa's Rift Valley ethnic groups are located in the "Crossroads of Africa", which is a very important part of China's history. "Crossroads of Africa", since ancient times, frequent wars, to the child's name is often with a sad color, such as the Lugbara often give the child the name "lazy", "obnoxious", For example, the Lugbara often name their children "Lazy", "Cheapskate", and "No Cow", which are often a result of the shortcomings of the child's parents or the family's predicament, with a self-deprecating connotation, while the Bani Oro often name their children "Wretched Worm", "homeless" and so on, this is a vivid record of tribal disputes, disease and plague and other unfortunate events.