It seems a common practice in some parts of China for a mother and her newborn child not to leave the house/apartment for at least thirty days after the child’s birth. Since the Yue Sao believes this to be the correct path, below is their impassable threshold for the next 23 days or so.
Shanshan has no problem with this. She is very good at entertaining herself, and the Yue Sao has quite a lot of good stories. And, of course, the parents come over fairly often to visit.
I’m not sure of the original intention, but I think this does make some sense:
- Establishes a safe home space for the child (sound, touch, smell, etc)
- Keep the child away from possible outside injury
- Makes the child the mother’s focus of attention
- Lets the mother rest (fully acknowledging that she’s still working)
In my hometown, the family put a red ribbon on the outside door. So, the others know there is a newborn inside and will not enter the door until the first month.
Thanks!
I had no idea that at times it was a total barrier (mother/child not allowed out and visitors not allowed in).
You could have know it is important for a family to celebrate for the newborn’s first one-month old in China. From then on, the baby can be take to the public and show to others. That is why usually only the relative to visit the newborn in the first month. That is the tradition in my hometown. Is that same for Beijing local people? 🙂
Very small gathering at one month, large gathering at 100 days.
Makes perfect sense to me. I get really upset when I see some chick showing off her newborn in a restaurant/shop/market.
Or, worse yet, doing a “Sarah Palin”.
wonderful colors and sense of the space and depth.
Thanks. I really like shooting with the 14 mm.