Chinese Baby Traditions: Things to Consider When Adopting from China

When thinking about adopting from China, many things come to mind about how to fulfill the culture and traditions of both the adopted country and the birth country. For those adopting from China, it is important to remember that your new child has been born into a society that is very superstitious. Superstition is part of the everyday life, therefore it is important to incorporate this belief into your new child's life in America. By incorporating superstition into a child's life, he/she will understand his/her native culture. Here is some general information for those whom have not read up on superstition in China to get started.

1. Everything runs along the Chinese calendar which holds the zodiac characters of rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, roaster, dog, pig. Depending on the hour, day, month and year of the child's, a preset dictation of the child's life will be determined. The characters will tell the parents if the child will be wealthy, successful, fate and even personality. These characters are so important in Chinese life, special fortune tellers or soothsayers will be hired at a high price to come and read the child's fortune for the future.

2. Along with the zodiac characters, the fives elements (such as used for feng shui) such as metal, wood, water, fire, and earth are used to determine a child's name. The belief is held that each child is made up of the five elements, if metal, wood and earth is lacking in a child's birthday, then that element will be added to the child's name to make an equal balance. Fire and water are dangerous for children, therefore if these two elements are missing, it is good and no change needs to take place. Most adoptive parents chose to change the adopted child's first name to an American name while keeping a Chinese name for the middle name.

3. As in America, Chinese parents like to choose names that are popular during that year and also by using name books that can be purchased. For the most part though, girls' names are chosen to contain a character that resembles beauty, virtues, jewelry, flowers and so on. Boy names tend to deal with such characters as ethics, glory, loyalty, ancestors and so on. For English only speaking parents, try looking up a few Chinese naming books with English definitions or checking out the internet to pick the perfect name.

4. Multiple names are given to a child before and after the birth of a child in China. Chinese parents follow the belief that if a child's name resembles ugly or a disgrace, then the evil spirits will not come and harm the child. Therefore, from the time the mother is pregnant, the child is considered as a "no-name", or as "ugly dog" or something of that sort. This is to protect the child from harm. In fact, many parents do not change the child's proper name until the child is much older.

5. Once the baby is born, it is a tradition for Chinese fathers to send out money and wine to his in-laws to announce the child's sex and a successful birth. It is not in tradition for the parents, either side, to come to the birth. Three days after the child is born, the parents will come however not until then. Therefore the wine and money envelopes are tied with special birth ribbons signifying if the child is a boy or girl.

6. For the rest of the family, red eggs are made to celebrate and announce the birth of the child. Red is a special color that resembles luck - therefore it is always around the child in the beginning of life. These red eggs are usually made and send to close family members to announce the birth and sex of the child. Being secretive again to ward off evil spirits, the sex is never announced out loud but rather told in the amount of eggs that are present in the package each close family member receives. For a girl, the number of eggs will be even. For boy, the eggs will be an odd count.

7. Most recently, boxes of fruit have been sent out to close family members as a present to express happiness for the new addition into the family.

8. Return gifts are usually accepted however not as common until the first month birthday of the newborn. If presents are given to the new parents and baby, clocks are never taken. The word clock is much like the Chinese word for death; therefore it is a taboo to accept this type of present. Since there is a large festivity held on the first month birthday and then again on the first birthday, most people tend to wait until that time.

9. Small golden bells are made into bracelets and anklets to place on the new born child. These small bells ward of evil spirits during the most critical first month of the child's life.

10. One month birthday is the first real celebration since the child has endured the hardest part of the birth process. These parties are called red egg and ginger parties. A lot of adoption agencies like to have this "red egg and ginger" party one month after a group has returned from China with their new loved ones. In ancient China, the mortality rate was very high; therefore if the baby survived through the first month, the death percentage was very low. Therefore, if the baby makes it to the first month, then baby will survive - traditional Chinese thought. At this party, the new parents officially announce the baby's name to all family members and close friends. In ancient times, these parties were large and more elaborate for boys however today they are the same size for both sexes. In addition, gifts are given to the new born and to the parents. In return for good luck, the new parents had out red envelopes and more red eggs to the guests upon leaving.

These are the common traditions practiced from birth to the first month party of the new born. Although most adopted children stay in the orphanage until around eight months old, it is important to understand the process. Since the new addition to your family comes from another culture, it is important to follow along with the process too although in America. If younger children are in the family, it might be fun to hold follow along these traditions as you hear about your baby's through e-mails and so. Then, one month after the baby is born, have a red egg and ginger party for fun!