What is Korean Doljabi?

Dol or doljanchi is a Korean tradition that celebrates the first birthday of a baby. This ceremony blesses the child with a prosperous future and has taken on great significance in Korea.

What are the items for Doljabi?

Traditional Doljabi Sets have consisted of these specific items: a bow, medallion, set of coins, fortune pouch, brush, yarn, 5 color paper, medicine pot, rice ball, and notebook. A few of these items did predict careers such as a bow, medicine pot, and medallion but they also represented blessings.

What does gavel mean in Doljabi?

Modern Doljabi Items: Gavel: The baby will be a lawyer or judge. Computer Mouse: The baby will be a software engineer. Golf Ball / Baseball: The baby will be an athlete.

What is a DOHL?

Dholes are dogs! The dhole (pronounced “dole”) is also known as the Asiatic wild dog, red dog, and whistling dog. It is about the size of a German shepherd but looks more like a long-legged fox.

How does a Doljabi work?

Doljabi is a tradition where the baby is placed in front of various items or objects. Then, the baby is encouraged to grab one or two items from the set of objects where each choice symbolizes a certain future of the baby with respect to his or her career or a lifestyle.

Why is Doljabi important?

It’s important because Doljabi signifies a beginning and provides an opportunity to a parent to introduce Korean culture to their Korean baby who’s born in the states. If we break down the name of the celebration, the first birthday is called a “dol” (돌) or “doljanchi” (돌잔치) in Korean.

How do you do Doljabi?

Doljabi is a tradition where the child is placed in front of various items or objects (Usually 6 – 8 items). Then, the child is encouraged to grab one or two items from the set of objects where each choice represents a certain future of the child with respect to his or her career or a lifestyle.

What is a 100 day birthday?

Traditionally the number 100 has a deep meaning of maturity in Korea; making it past the first 100 days was a sign that you would live to see your first birthday, and making it past your first birthday was a sign that you would make it out of infancy.

What does grabbing a knife on first birthday mean?

The first birthday grab is supposed to tell the babies’ future, if you like. A tray of specially selected items is put in front of the baby and everyone waits in anticipation until the baby chooses an item. The item grabbed symbolizes the baby’s future career or future life circumstances.

What is Dol in Korean?

Korean birthday celebrations or Dol are one of the important facets of Korean culture. When a person reaches an important age in his or her life, Koreans have unique celebrations to mark these milestones. Dol means it has been 365 days since the baby’s birth.

What is the Korean 100 Day celebration?

Baek-il (백일) Another birthday celebration is Baek-il (100th-day celebration). During this celebration, the family worships Samshin. They make her offerings of rice and soup for having cared for the infant and the mother, and for having helped them live through a difficult period.