Birthday Feasts · FFET10340
Red eggs for a baby's first month
At a baby's 1-month celebration, hard-boiled eggs dyed red are handed to relatives and neighbors; traditionally, red stands for luck and the round egg for harmony.
The foods and feasts of birthdays, of a baby's first month and first year, and of longevity celebrations.
The red egg custom is the handing out of hard-boiled eggs dyed red to relatives and neighbors when a baby reaches 1 month, as part of the full-month feast. By tradition, red stands for luck and the round egg for harmony. The full-month washing gatherings in the Song Dongjing Menghua Lu and Mengliang Lu include dates, fruit and coins, but neither text mentions red eggs.
What
When a baby reaches 1 month, hard-boiled eggs dyed red are handed to relatives and neighbors as part of the full-month celebration.1
When
The full-month celebration takes place 1 month after birth, following a period of mother and baby staying at home; 100-day and 1-year celebrations follow. In the Song Dongjing Menghua Lu, vol. 5, full-month washing customs include guests floating dates in scented water, women taking the upright date as a sign of a son, and fruit. In the Mengliang Lu, vol. 20, the maternal family sends coins and fruit to the washing party; a separate birth gift consists of 120 painted duck eggs. Neither of these 2 books mentions red eggs for the full month.1,3,4
Where
This is a Chinese full-month custom. In 1 rural Henan example, the banquet has 10 hot dishes, from a salty soup to a sweet soup; the account of this banquet does not mention eggs.1,2
How
Red-dyed hard-boiled eggs are handed to relatives and neighbors, and the feast follows. The banquet blesses the baby, need not fall exactly 1 month after birth, and invitations go out 1 day before.1,2
Why
By tradition, red stands for luck and the round egg for harmony; the eggs also mark the baby's reaching 1 month.1
Impact and influence
The full-month banquet is regarded as a happy event second only to a wedding.2
No tale about this food has been found.