What does the child mean by "grasping the week"?

The custom of "grasping Tuesday at the age of one" has been circulating among the people for a long time. Song and Wu's "Lu" said: "His family is in nave, burning incense and holding candles, toys with seven treasures of gold and silver, learning books, Taoist scriptures, weighing knives and scissors, carrying buckets, colored satin flowers, official money, needlework for female workers, applications and playthings, but Zhou Tuer is the only one. Song Meng's Dream in Tokyo: Childbirth calls this the "Birth Ceremony".

At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, this kind of children's "Catch Tuesday" ceremony was still popular in Beijing. Although children don't put up tents to hold banquets or invite guests, all close relatives congratulate and get together. Generally speaking, we don't give big gifts (such as wedding gifts and gold and silver jewelry) but just buy some cakes, food or toys for children. In addition, it is customary for elders to tie coins with a white thread when they first meet children, which is called "hanging thread". This gift is also suitable for ordinary times.

The ceremony of "grasping Tuesday" is usually held before eating "longevity noodles" at noon. Rich people who pay attention to some things should display major cases in front of their beds (on the kang), and put them on: seals, Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism classics, pens, ink, paper, inkstones, abacus, coins, account books, jewelry, flowers, rouge, food, toys, shovels (cookers). Due to economic constraints, ordinary families tend to simplify, using only one copper tea tray. Girls plus pendulum: a shovel, scissors, ruler. Adults will take the child to sit up without any inducement, let him choose and see what he catches first and then what he catches. In this way, we can predict his interests, future and future career.

If the child catches the seal first, it means that when he grows up, he will take advantage of God's grace and prosper in his career. Grasping stationery first means that when you grow up, you will be eager to learn, and there will be splendid articles, which will eventually be ternary harmony; If a child grasps the abacus first, it means that he will be good at managing money when he grows up, and will become the career of Tao Zhu. If a girl first masters sewing utensils such as scissors and rulers or cooking utensils such as shovels and spoons, it shows that she is good at housework when she grows up. On the contrary, children should not be dismissed as "delicious" or "playful" on the spot when they grab food and toys for the first time. They should also say that "children will have a good mouth and be good at eating, drinking and having fun when they grow up". In a word, the elders have high hopes for their children's future, so it's good to bless them when they are one year old.