Because as soon as I returned from San Fran, it was a whirlwind of events for me. First off, I had to clean my house like a madwoman for my friends Luke and Ranida. They just welcomed a new baby and, like I did over three years ago, I threw them another Red Egg and Ginger Party!I actually can't believe that the baby that I held back then:
(from 2007! Gosh, I was a lot skinnier! Oh well, now I am chubbier & happier, I can live with the pay off.)
Is actually now like this:
And there is now a new one to welcome with red eggs!
I had to use 4 bottles of red food coloring to get the eggs this red.
And honestly, that was the most cooking I could do. In my time crunch, I was to be able to clean and get the decorations up:
But I didn't have time to make cupcakes. Boo!
I used the birds I made at Christmas up as decorations. All the kids loved them and I ended up giving them away as a kind of party favor.
And I admit I was kind of tired, which is why I am rather haggard in this picture. But isn't the baby cute?
We also played this game that Squatchie's cousin taught us. It's actually a Greek game, where everyone gets an egg. Then two people tap their eggs together until one egg cracks.
The person's egg that did not crack moves on to the next person until there is only one person with an uncracked egg--who is the winner! It was great fun.
We also played this game that Squatchie's cousin taught us. It's actually a Greek game, where everyone gets an egg. Then two people tap their eggs together until one egg cracks.
The person's egg that did not crack moves on to the next person until there is only one person with an uncracked egg--who is the winner! It was great fun.However, the baby slept through the whole thing.
Customarily, the first big festivity in a Chinese baby’s life is the Red Egg and Ginger Party. This party is given in honor of a baby’s first month or first moon birthday, signifying it welcome to the family. Until a baby had lived a full month it was not considered part of the family. Consequently, the Red Egg and Ginger Party was an especially joyous occasion.
Eggs represent new life and, because of their roundness, harmony while red is, of course, the Chinese color of luck and happiness. So Red Eggs signify a happy and lucky new life, the perfect symbol to welcome a new baby.
New mothers “sit a month” after giving birth. It is only on the first moon birthday that the new mother is allowed to leave her home and rejoin the world. On this occasion, she is given much ginger, thought to contain special nutrients needed to give the mother strength.