Take a look at how the roots of the holiday season are celebrated around the world

While a time of festivities and gaiety, this season is also profoundly symbolic. Christmas traditionally celebrates the miracle of birth. While this day has historic and religious roots, the birth of new life in every culture is sacred and a cause for joy and gratitude. There are unique ways in which communities around the world celebrate the birth of a baby.

Traditions and customs across Asia, Africa, and Latin America encourage a rest period, keeping the new mother and baby indoors, bestowing lucky charms, blessings, and good fortune in many ways. For example, in India, newborns are kept indoors for 40 days, adorned with kohl in their eyes and black dots on their forehead to ward off evil influences. Bracelets with beads of gold, blue and black are placed around wrists and ankles, and amulets as per religious scriptures are placed on the baby’s neck. The first bath is a significant ritual, and the first head shave is sacred and done as per tradition. A great deal of importance is placed on astrology and the infant is named accordingly.

Similarly, in Latin American countries like Colombia and Peru, a healing period ‘la quarentena’ is observed where the female relatives of the new mother pitch in to take care of the household chores while the mother heals and learns to care for the infant.

In UAE and other Arab countries like Lebanon, the father of the newborn whispers the ‘Adhaan’ or the call to prayer into the baby’s right ear believing that the first words he hears should be of God. Softened date is rubbed on the infant’s gums symbolizing the first taste passing his lips to be sweet. On the seventh day ‘Aqeeqah’ is observed – family and relatives get together, and two goats or lambs are slaughtered and distributed. The baby is traditionally named as well.

In Mexico, the entire family prays and chants blessings during the actual birth period. On the child’s first birthday, a pinata is placed on top of the baby and broken, showering him with sweets and gifts symbolizing abundance and prosperity.

In China, mothers are traditionally required to give birth squatting and must not cry out of pain. This is believed to make the baby stronger. On the child’s first birthday, longevity noodles are eaten by the family – a single long noodle placed in the bowl for good luck and long life.

Zhuazhou is another interesting ceremony held on the child’s first birthday. Several objects like a book, pen, calculator, seal, money, shallot, knife, ruler, garlic, grass, and stethoscope are placed in front of the baby and the object that the baby picks symbolizes his future interests. Like a calculator implies business and accounting interest. Similarly, shallot indicates extraordinary intelligence. The pen would mean a literary bent, grass would point to a green thumb and a possible career in agriculture… Similar ceremonies are held in Japan, called Erabitori, in Korea called Doljabi, Vietnam, Armenia, Kazakhstan, and even Malta.

In Inuit culture native to northern Canada and Alaska, women prefer to give birth in a communal setting with elderly ladies. Babies are delivered by midwives. This practice has been modernized to ensure midwives are medically trained and the communal birthplace is equipped with a modern medical setup to perform safe delivery.

In Africa, the land of spirits and shamans, in many countries the newborn’s first bath is given by his grandmother. In Ghana, postpartum mothers wear white to invite healing and good spirits. In Nigeria, on the seventh day, the newborn receives water, palm oil, kola nut, salt, and pepper as symbols of blessing, protection, longevity, and fun.

In Finland, the government provides a free baby care package for new moms. It contains clothes, bibs, swaddles, bedding, first aid, and feeding essentials in a cardboard box that can be used as a crib. Mothers have the option of taking a cash grant instead, but the care package is much more expensive and preferred by Finnish moms and supposed to bring luck too.

In Germany, creative naming of their baby might get parents fined. The newborn is expected to have an acceptable first name identifying their gender and an established last name already present in the list of Standesmant or office of vital statistics. For exceptions, a strong case has to be made. For each failed attempt, the parents are fined.