Did you know that most children would not be named until they reached their 1st birthday? Don't you think it would be weird to not have a name or if your parents would be testing out names on you as a baby. I have even heard of families where after they had picked a name for the child, they would change it a couple months later because they deemed it unlucky. The reason Korean parents didn't pick a name is not because they are indecisive, but it was for a different reason.

Before the time of modern medicine the mortality rates for babies were quite high. Babies are born with a very weak immune system that doesn't really develop until they are 6 months old. So for a baby to survive to their 100th day, it was a momentous event. Any sort of event in Korea is marked by a party and lots of food. On the morning of a child's 100th day ceremony, plain white rice and seaweed soup are prepared in honor of the god of childbirth: Samsin. The mother prays to the god and then eats the rice and the seaweed soup. The mother will need her strength because she has a lot of work to do.

For the 100 day ceremony, the food for the banquet needs to be prepared. Many different types of rice cake are prepared. There are plain white rice cakes that represent purity and cleanliness. There are glutinous rice cakes topped with red beans which represent endurance and strong will. There are also rice cakes steamed on a layer of pine needles, which represent generosity; and stuffed rice cakes, which represent the full mind. In addition, all the rice cakes represent longevity, purity and divinity. It is important that at least 100 people come to the ceremony and eat rice cake which will insure that the baby will live a long life.

Neighbors, friends and family are supposed to give gifts of string and rice to the baby's family. The rice represents generosity and the string represents long life.

The purpose of the 100 day ceremony is to recognize the baby as a member of the family. It is also to bless the baby and prevent any disasters that my trouble the baby's growth. This is the first of many parties. The next big party in a child's life is the Dol, which is the first birthday. At this party, the foods are even more elaborate and the baby gets to pick out his future by choosing among different items at a table such as rice, rice cakes, cookies, money, thread, hooks, paper, a writing brush, a doctor's stethoscope, or a bow and arrow. By choosing the items, the baby chooses its path for the future.