My little babe is 1 year old! It's bittersweet, as I thought we'd be celebrating with him. But I'm keeping my chin up and my eye on the prize - hopefully it's less than 2 months until that little nugget is home with his mama!!
In Korea the 1st birthday is a very significant event (well, it is in the US too). They have a celebration called a "dol janchi" (also called Tol). We had the opportunity to experience this first-hand when our friends (she moved to US from Korea 7 years ago) had this celebration for their little boy almost 3 years ago ... it was a fun celebration wiht family and friends.
In a nutshell, here is how it works:
The child wears a special hanbok garment and the highlight of the festivities is the "dol jabi" ritual where they bring out a low table with several items on it, each representing a different path the child's future will take. The child is urged to grab an object off the table. Here are the meanings of some of the typical objects used in this ritual:
- bow and arrow: he'll become a warrior or have a military career
- money or rice: he will be wealthy
- pencil, pen: he'll be a writer/journalist
- artists brush: he will be an artist
- book, calligraphy set: he'll be a scholar
- travel literature: he will travel far and wide
- cakes or other foods: he will be a government official (although I assigned this to mean he'd be a famous chef)
So David got the above items, a birthday cake and birthday hats for our 2 dogs (Ginger and Kramer) and we decided that THEY would determine our child's future (very cute idea, David)!
We placed the items on the floor and let the dogs loose. There was a lot of running around and sniffing. And then, finally, Ginger grabbed a pen in her mouth! And so it came to be: JD shall be a famous writer ... but of course he will, with a name like JD Prince!
It's likely that JD experienced this ritual with his foster family this week - I'm hoping to get pictures someday. And when we finally get our little prince home, perhaps we'll do the ceremony again (a few months late) and let him choose his own destiny (sorry Ginger).
Happy Birthday from all of us, little love!
Happy Birthday JD! I know it's bittersweet you're feeling right now. I would feel that way too, but I think it's great you've kept such a positive attitude and that you'll just have Tol #2 when JD is home! I hope you get some photos of JD's Tol with this foster family!
ReplyDeletePS - Famous writer? Totally! Following in the footsteps of other famous writers named JD (Salinger....)
We missed Kaeuna's first birthday. However, her fostermother took great pictures and she will someday be rich!!! Great idea with the dogs. JD will laugh looking back at this post someday. Thanks for the pictures, cute doggies!!
ReplyDeleteAdrienne
Happy Birthday to JD! I know it's sad that he isn't home with you, but what a great way to celebrate!
ReplyDeleteIf Ginger is wrong on the pick, I'll put her back in the 'Dog House'.
ReplyDeleteAwe, I'm so sorry JD wasn't here for his first birthday, but I know you are right...his foster most definitely had a splendid Tol for him. I also hope you get pictures...and you totally should have a second celebration when he comes home. I mean...you have to see how accurate your dog was with the choice of a pen. What a cute idea. A writer...I love it. I've always wanted to be a writer.
ReplyDeleteThat's classic, you are creative! But it most have been hard on this special day!
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