In Korean culture, 100 days is a big deal. Although there are various ways 100 days is celebrated, the most popular, and obvious, is celebrating 100 days after birth.
Baek-Il – The 100th Day After Birth Celebration
It’s been traditionally a important milestone when a baby makes it to 100 days. This is because historically many babies didn’t make it to 100 days due to illness and disease and the lack of medical knowledge and resources to treat these conditions.
It was an auspicious occasion for a baby to live to be 100 days old because it meant that they kind-of beat the odds and would likely make it to their one year birthday (i.e. Doljanchi).
How the 100th Day After Birth was Celebrated
Up until the 100th day, the mother and her baby were kept indoors (usually from a harsh Winter) and interaction with others was limited. This was in order to insulate the mother and baby from the illnesses that I just mentioned they didn’t have effective methods of treating.
On the 100th day, the family prayed and gave offerings to the goddess/spirit of childbirth Samshin as a thanks for keeping baby and mom healthy to this point. They would also ask for wealth and longevity in the baby’s future.
If the baby was sick on their 100th day, the family would not celebrate because it was considered bad luck. I suppose it would seem weird to thank the spirit for health when in fact, the child wasn’t healthy. No one appreciates a sarcastic thank you, you know.
However, when the baby is healthy and the 100th day is celebrated, the family offers rice and seaweed soup. Additionally, red bean rice cakes were placed at four compass points (N,E,S, and W) in the house. Red bean rice cakes would also be shared with at least 100 people. People who received rice cakes would return thread, rice, and money on the dishes that once held the cakes. It was believed that these practices would protect the child by warding off evil spirits and expressed wishes for longevity and wealth in the future.
How the 100th Day After Birth is Celebrated
The 100th Day birthday is infrequently celebrated nowadays because it just became common place for babies to make it past 100 days after birth. Modern medicine saw to that. Thank goodness!
As such, the one year birthday (dol or doljanchi) has largely overshadowed the 21 days and 100 days milestones/celebrations.
Baek-Il is still celebrated in Korea by gathering with family and having seaweed soup with rice, of course. But there isn’t as much prayer nor is there much practice of sharing red bean rice cakes with 100 people. I don’t blame them. That’s a lot of people!
In the U.S., I know for myself, and my Korean friends who are parents, the baek-il gets little more than recognition that 100 days have passed since birth. A friend of mine celebrated by going out to dinner at a Chinese restaurant and posting about it on Instagram. You’ll find little fanfare about baek-il. However, the dol is another story.
There are other ways the 100th day tradition lives on though.
Other 100th Day Celebrations
The idea of celebrating 100 days has made its way into the romance department.
Couples celebrate 100 days of being in a relationship. They buy matching sets of things which may be anything from key rings to pajamas. The ultimate matching set, of course, is a set of rings. Giving or getting a “couples ring” means that you belong to that other person. In a society where public displays of affection (aka PDA) is frowned upon, the ring is considered the best expression to the world of how you feel about this person.
Surviving to 100 days is also celebrated in business. If a new store has made it to 100 days, they might have a sale or something of that sort. It’s an obvious ploy to drum up publicity but good for them! Hey, I’m all for a good sale.
So maybe it’s because 100 is a nice round number or may be it all stemmed from the 100th day after birth celebration, but any excuse to celebrate is a good thing right?😉
Have you celebrated a 100th day after birth or of being a couple? Share in the comments.
