In case you didn’t know, Dan’s half-Korean. Which means Joshua and Emma are 1/4 Korean, 3/4 mudblood.
I used to joke that I married Dan for the cute kids. And while I was truly only joking, we did have some cute kids.
Being part Korean doesn’t just mean our kids are cute. It also means Korean traditions.
(If you can say the word “tradition” without breaking out in songs from Fiddler on the Roof then…well…you’re probably less of a dork than I am.)
Being Korean and knowing about their halmoni ‘s (grandmother) life and culture is their heritage, so it’s always been important to me to make sure they know about and get to experience that part of themselves.
Today was Emma’s baek-il, or, 100 day birthday.
In Korea, infant mortality used to be so high that if a baby made it to 100 days, it was generally expected that the child would live a long life. Pregnancy is counted as part of the child’s first year. 100 days after being born concludes the child’s first year of life. The child’s 100th day of life also marked the first time anyone in the village, aside from those taking care of the mother and baby, would see the child. It was the first time the child and mother would leave the house following the child’s birth.
So, on the 100th day after birth, each village celebrates the child’s 100 days and wishes the baby a long and healthy life. There’s a feast and a special rice cake. 100 people must eat the cake so the child is blessed with long life and luck.
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Our families came over this evening to celebrate this special little girl. The only female grandchild on Dan’s side.
We ate traditional Korean food and shared rice cake. We passed around a cute little baby girl while Joshua and his cousins ran around playing and filling the house with laughter and happy noises.
For all the ways today was not a good day before the party, and believe me, it was totally one of those days, today was a good day.
It was a happy day. A day that reminds me that I have so much good in my life.
I’m blessed.
Happy 100 days, sweet baby girl.
Yup. You’re right. That Korean in her has just tipped the cuteness scale to unbelievably cute. Happy 100 Days to Emma! And congrats on being a Mom-of-two (and surviving!) for 100 days!
What an interesting tradition. I love learning new things! 🙂 happy 100 days to Emma!
Happy 100 days. I’ve always thought 100 of anything meant it was going to stick. I love how Emma is the perfect balance of Korean and mudblood 🙂 Both Joshua and Emma are the most adorable ever.
Congrats and i take my virtual bite of the 100 people eating cake to wish her a long life.
Happy 100 days beautiful Emma. Glad the party was a success!
Happy 100 days! Your children are Adorable!
I love learning about the traditions of other cultures. Your daughter is beautiful. Funny side note: I made Korean Beef for dinner last night. It was like I was celebrating with you and not know it. Yeah, that was kind of stalkerish.
Oh she is such a doll and I loved learning about this tradition… seriously cool that you are making sure your children grow up knowing their heritage. I’m irish… so I guess I’ll teach my kids to have tempers & drink beer 🙂
did you hear that? my ovary just spontaneously combusted from cute overload.