Chinese ritual held on a child's first birthday
Zhuazhou (抓週 – literally, "pick" and "anniversary", meaning "one-year-old catch" ) is a Chinese ritual held at a child's first birthday party, when the child is 1 year, i.e. typically twelve months since birth (although variable reckonings as to what constitutes a year of age for entitlement for zhuazhou exist), old. The parents put various objects before the child. Parents will often put objects that symbolize career choices or personality traits. The child's choice is used to forecast its future. It is said that this custom can be dated back to the Northern and Southern dynasties (420-589). Yan Zhitui in his book Yanshi jiaxun 顏氏家訓 ("The Family Instructions of Master Yan") documented a custom that is very similar to Zhuazhou today.[1] The earliest written record of this custom can be traced back to the Song dynasty (960-1279).[2] It is portrayed in a well-known scene in the novel Dream of the Red Chamber.
