What is the moral of children grasping the week?

Seize Zhou's moral book: I can read it and be suitable to be a scholar and expert. Pen and ink: will become a writer and painter. India: powerful, will be a big official. Abacus/calculator: I will be a businessman and an accountant, suitable for business. Money: I will have money in the future. Chicken leg: Blessed, it means that you will never worry about food and clothing. Ruler: I can be a designer and an architect in the future. Celery: It stands for hard work. Straw: Suitable for farming. Sword: It can be an officer or a policeman. Headphones: suitable for medical work.

Grasp a week:

Grasping Zhou, a traditional custom in China, is now a custom in East Asian countries, which predicts the future of a baby when the child is one year old. When the newborn is one year old, all kinds of things are placed in front of the child and let him grab them. Traditionally, commonly used items are pens, ink, paper, inkstones, abacus, coins, books and so on. Grasping the week is also called trying the child, trying the week, and pressing the birthday. It is a very important ceremony in the one-year-old ceremony, which was first seen in the ancient customs of the Northern and Southern Dynasties and spread among the people. A baby is called "Zhou" when it is one year old, and now it is called one year old. On this day, the whole family should not only celebrate, but also hold a grand ceremony to catch up with the week. In the classic Dream of Red Mansions, Jia Baoyu also wrote about the ceremony of "holding the week". Jia Baoyu caught a rouge hairpin on his first birthday.

Grasp the matters needing attention for a week:

1. The time to grab the week is before lunch, and an hour or so is appropriate, so that children have enough time to choose items.

2. Choose items with the same color and similar size, which is convenient for children to master. It is best for children to contact or be familiar with similar items for the first time. Be careful not to choose fragile items such as glass products.

3. No matter where you grab the week, it is recommended to put the items in a fan shape. According to the importance of the items, put them from the middle to both sides, and parents can put the items they want their children to get the most in the middle.

4. The item that the child holds for the longest time in a week can be used as the child's choice, because only in this way can the baby's preferences be seen. Parents should watch carefully when children are grabbing things, but don't let relatives and friends interfere with them. In order to get accurate results, it is best to record the time. Generally, children can catch it twice.

Historical status quo:

The record of grasping Zhou in the literature can be traced back to the Southern and Northern Dynasties. Many writings, when discussing the history of the custom of grasping Zhou, say that this custom was popular in Jiangnan area at least in the Southern and Northern Dynasties, and gradually spread to all parts of the country in the Sui and Tang Dynasties. In the Tang and Song Dynasties, this custom spread all over China from the south of the Yangtze River, and gradually prevailed throughout the country, and was called "Shen" or "Zhou". In the Song Dynasty, Meng Yuan-shen recorded in "Dream of China in Tokyo" that after the folk gave birth, "things put on the ground, such as big fruit trees, grain, official letters, pens and inkstones, scales, etc., were listed as gifts for children for sewing and sewing. Those who look at them first think this is a sign and call it a' test'. " In the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, this custom became more popular and was called "Celebration Period". It was not until the Qing Dynasty that it was called "grasping the week" and "trying the week". In Chapter 19 of Heroes of Children, an interesting story about grasping Zhou was recorded in detail: "This year is your first birthday, and I'm going to congratulate your parents. On that day, your parents put many things such as needle and thread rulers, pink hairpin rings, pen and ink books, abacus, gold and silver money on the kang, and bought many tricks in the temple, inviting me in to watch you catch Tuesday together. " At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, this kind of children's "Catch Tuesday" ceremony was still popular in Beijing. Although children don't put up tents to hold banquets or invite guests, all close relatives congratulate and get together. Generally speaking, we don't give big gifts (such as wedding gifts and gold and silver jewelry) but just buy some cakes, food or toys for children. In addition, it is customary for all elders to use a white thread, tie a coin and put it around their necks, which is called "hanging the thread" (this ceremony is also applicable at ordinary times). Nowadays, in many places, when children reach the age of one, there is a custom of "grasping the week", but there is no superstitious content, which is purely a fun game to help children be happy at the age of one. And this can also be said to be a "heritage" of our ancient folk culture.

Individual national customs: Koreans

Among the parenting customs, there are some rituals such as "being alive", celebrating "March 7th Day", "one hundred days" and "grasping the week", among which "grasping the week" is the most solemn. The baby's first birthday means that he has passed the first spring, summer, autumn and winter safely on the road of life. Therefore, a banquet should be held to celebrate the healthy growth of children and the good expectations of adults for children. Celebrating one-year-old birthday mainly includes offering sincerity to the "three gods" (also known as "birthday gods"), putting on a new shroud for the baby, grasping the week, sharing birthday cakes and other customs. On the day before the child's first birthday, we must first be sincere to the "Three Gods". Put a bowl of rice, seaweed soup and "clear water" on a small table, which is called "Three Gods Table". There is also a bowl of steamed rice cake on the table, and the child's mother or grandmother will kowtow devoutly while praying to the three gods table. On the first birthday, children should put on gorgeous new birthday clothes. Boys' clothes are usually pink pants, colorful sleeve coats, blue shawls and socks with country flowers. The girl is wearing a colorful sleeve coat, a long red dress and country socks. Both men and women should wear a "purse" symbolizing longevity, with peony, chrysanthemum and "purse" with the words "longevity" and "happiness" written on the back. On the rope of the "bag", various accessories such as silver makeup knife, silver axe and silver fence should be tied.

Grasping the week is the main etiquette to celebrate the first birthday. First, put knives, scissors, bows, pens, books, threads, money, abacus and several kinds of cakes and fruits on a kang table, which is called setting the table. The cakes placed on the dining table mainly include white ice cream (steamed rice cake), red sorghum cake, cakes, rice noodles and jiaozi. White ice cream represents a white heart, red sorghum cake represents exorcism, making cakes symbolizes perseverance, jiaozi (without stuffing) symbolizes economy and generosity, and rainbow symbolizes a bright future. After setting the table, put a foot-long cotton noodle or blanket in front of the table, and then the child's father or grandmother will hold the child on it and let him grab whatever is on the table and sweep it around the table several times to judge his future interests by what he catches first. If the first thing you grab is a knife and a bow, it indicates that you can have martial arts in the future; If it is a book and a pen, it indicates that there will be literary talent in the future; If it is a cake or something, it indicates a bad future. After the "Catch the Week", give the cake to friends and relatives. Anyone who gets the cake will give back some gifts as a thank you. Koreans give their children a first birthday with only one content: "Catch the Week". When the child grabbed something on the table, relatives praised the child in different words and showed some coins on the table to congratulate him.

Hui nationality:

The ceremony of grasping the Zhou Dynasty is also called the New Year's Ceremony, and the Hui people commonly call it the New Year's Ceremony. This is a common etiquette among Hui people, especially for the first-born Hui people, or people who are infertile to bring other people's children. The age-catching ceremony for Hui children is relatively simple. When the child is one year old, parents, grandfathers, grandmothers, etc. The children are very happy. They were busy preparing the New Year cake the night before or in the morning. Hui people are very particular about rice cakes, and choose superior flour, red dates, bean powder, sesame oil and other raw materials. The rice cake must be round, about three or four inches thick and about one foot in diameter, and steamed in a steamer. Pay attention to kindness and generosity. The pattern should be novel and beautiful, generally consisting of six to eight triangles. The pattern on each triangle must be peony, plum blossom, lotus flower and other flowers made of flour. Animals such as cats, dogs, rabbits and sheep are prohibited. Put a big red date in the center of each flower. The cake is white and soft, and tastes sweet and fragrant. People who cut cakes should choose elders or elderly people. Conditional Hui people will also slaughter chickens and sheep, make bean jelly and stew spiced lai. Because Hui people are distributed all over the country, the custom of making rice cakes is not exactly the same. In some places, Muslims only need to eat rice cakes, noodles and other staple foods on the day of catching up with the New Year. On the day of New Year's Eve, relatives, friends and neighbors will be invited to have dinner at home. Guests usually bring toys and other small gifts to their children to celebrate. When holding a New Year's Eve ceremony, the host will set a red table. On the table, he likes to put pens, brushes, notebooks and toys made of paper such as small planes, boats, knives and swords. Then, the mother or father will hold the child on the table and let the child grab it at will. The guests and the whole family look around the child together, hoping that the child can catch an ideal thing. According to Hui custom, if a child catches a pen and a notebook, it means that he will be a talented person who can write and draw in the future. If you pick up the sword, say that this child must be a warrior who plays sword dancing in the future. If you grab a pen and a sword, you think this child will become a general with both civil and military skills. If you want to catch small toys, you think it is a "elm knot in one's heart" that you eat, drink and be merry, love ease and can't become a talent. If a child catches nothing, he or she is called an idiot, a mediocre person and so on. When children catch pens, notebooks and other things, parents are happy and relaxed, holding their children high to celebrate their laughter, and the onlookers applaud! After the ceremony, the host will bring out rice cakes and scalding pot-stewed vegetables and have dinner with the guests to congratulate the children on their safe and healthy growth every year. Conditional Hui families steam a rice cake every year on their children's birthdays, and celebrate and commemorate it within their own families without inviting guests. This custom continues until girls reach the age of 9 and boys reach the age of 12.

Eight kings:

A naming method similar to China's "grasping the week" is popular among Ba Jun people in East Africa, that is, many names selected in advance are written on the leaves, so that the 7-day-old baby can grasp them by himself, and whichever name he catches will be used; Because the peoples in the Great Rift Valley in Central Africa are located at the crossroads of Africa, wars have been frequent since ancient times, and it is often sad to name their children. For example, people in Rujibala often name their children, saying that they are lazy, annoying, stingy and have no Han Niu. This is often a shortcoming of parents or a family dilemma, which is self-mockery. Banyolo people often name their children "poor" and "homeless", which is a vivid record of tribal disputes, diseases and plagues.