Today I visited the National Folk Museum. It's the last day and I can't help feeling sad. I will talk about Baek-il and Dol, which is what interested me the most today.

Baek-il literally means 'one hundred days'. During the Joseon Dynasty (and further back) a lot of babies didn't live long and died early. So it was a big thing if the little tot lived for a hundred days. On the hundedth day since the babe was born, the parents made a lot of rice cakes, and shared it with their neighbours. I wonder if my parents did that. I can't remember of course, so I'll have to ask my mum.

(She says yes.)

Dol was an even bigger occasion than Baek-il, because it was the baby's first birthday, which meant he or she survived for 365 days. The parents (again) prepared food and and this time they had another tradition. It is called 'Doljabi' and basically the baby grabs one of the things on a small table prepared for this. People thought this determined his or her future. If the baby grabbed money, they thought he/she was going to grow up to be rich. String meant a long life. The pencil (or a brush) meant the baby was going to be a smart scholar. I don't know if this is true, but I guess it's just a tradition, for fun. Or I don't know, my mum also said I grabbed money, so maybe I'll be rich. I will buy myself a nice mansion, if that happens.

Thanks for reading this!