Finally, the day came, the big day for any mom-to-be! I would like to share my baby shower ceremony with my readers. Let’s go to a tour of pictures along with the significance of each tradition being followed.
The baby shower is a tradition celebrated in almost all parts of India which means filling the lap of the expectant lady. Each region has its own significant way to celebrate. Different regions have different names for the baby shower ceremony too.
Shrimant….Gujarat
Godh Bharai…..North region
Dohale Jevan…. Maharashtra
Seemandham…..Kerala
Shaad…..Bengal
Valaikappu…..South region
Since I belong to a Gujarati family, I’m going to share how this tradition is celebrated in Gujarati Families.
When it is celebrated?
Generally, it is celebrated in the third trimester of pregnancy when it is said the baby has reached the safer milestone. It’s held during the 7th month. Generally, it is preferred to have it at the start of the 7th month only. This is more like women oriented occasion. Men are not supposed to participate in this event except brother-in-law. All women sing a traditional song for the mother and her baby and the expectant mother is dressed up like a bride.
How is it celebrated?
Tying Rakhi
The sister-in-law (Nanad), ties a rakhi (A cloth with certain things inside for the well-being of mother and baby) to the mother-to-be. And it is not removed until the woman has her final delivery. After the delivery, it is tied to the cradle of the baby. Rakhi is also known as Panchmassi.
What is inside this cloth bag?
- a small piece of iron
- sand is taken from any crossroads
- chanothi (a small red fruit of a rare tree)
- hanuman ji’s mari (orange, sticky substance)
- Kodi (sea shell)
The Lord Ganesha Worship & Randal Matana lota
Any function or festival is incomplete without worshipping God. We worship the Lord Ganesha and Randal Maa. The expectant mother has to keep fast and is allowed to eat only after all rituals are finished. Here are some glimpses of pooja. (If you are not aware of the Randal Matana Lota, you can search on google for more detail.)
Washing hair
After the pooja is done, an expectant lady is supposed to wash her hair. In some traditions, it is believed that expectant women shouldn’t wash their hair until Shrimant, is weird but true. 😦 Imagine you can’t wash your hair from the day you conceived until the day of the baby shower. 😀 But it is also true that your hair will not get damaged nor you feel like you haven’t washed your hair for many months. This is something a part of faith. I also followed this ritual. 🙂
On the day of the baby shower, the mom-to-be is supposed to go to her mum’s home to wash her hair. After washing the hair, she is not supposed to tie her hair until the rest of the rituals are completed.
Feeling the Lap
This is the central part of the whole ceremony. The mom-to-be is supposed to exchange a whole coconut with water- Nadiyer, rice which symbolizes prosperity, abundance, and health. Other few things like Lagan Pado, Betel nuts, and silver coin with her sister-in-law or a family member ( who has not had a miscarriage, whole and healthy). They exchange this four times.
This procedure is repeated 2 times at mum-to-be’s mumma’s home and two times at in-law’s house. (In some traditions this process is to be done seven times also.)
After that, the brother-in-law gently slaps with Kumkum powder dipped fingers to mum-to-be’s cheeks. And mom-to-be also do the same with her brother-in-law. 😀
Washing the toe of goyni’s
First I would like to let you know the meaning of Goyni here. The married or unmarried lady whose toe is supposed to be washed by the expectant mom in honor of Randal Maa.
Mom-to-be washes the toe with warm water, followed by milk and again with water and applies kanku and rice grains on the toe. Also it is to be done on forehead. Please do check the photos below for more detailed information.
Lunch
Then the ceremony is followed by having lunch together. 🙂
The significance of this ceremony is to shower the blessing to mom-to-be and her unborn with happiness, joy and to celebrate the arrival of a new baby in the family. Everyone rejoices the moments together. 🙂
And at last here are some pics we had during baby shower photo shoot. <3
Have you been to any Gujarati Baby shower? Or you had your own baby shower this way? What were you experience so far? What are the things you enjoyed the most?
Do write me in a comment box below and share your experience with me. I would love to hear from you.
If you have any question regarding the logic behind the any tradition, feel free to ask me. 🙂
Happy blogging!
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