What is Doljabi?
Doljabi is a Korean tradition that’s often celebrated on a child’s first Korean birthday. The point of Doljabi is for the parents to guess their baby’s future and to bless the baby. A baby is placed in the middle of a room with 6-8 toys in front of them and urged to choose 1-3 items. Each item has their own unique representation and makes this celebration fun for the baby, the host, and their guests.
History of Doljabi
The history of Doljabi dates back to the old days where Koreans weren’t as economically well off like now. Koreans often suffered famines, civil wars, and harsh weather with a lack of necessary supplies to stay warm. This often caused premature deaths and many babies wouldn’t survive even up to their 100th day.
Because of the commonality of a baby’s death before turning 1 years old, Koreans would throw a big celebration for their baby if they did survive up to their first birthday. A big feast with family members and specific foods that were associated with luck and blessings would be consumed, the main highlight of the celebration, Doljabi, would be hosted, and other traditions such as prayers, passing the baby around, and greeting each other would take place.
Why is Doljabi trending?
Doljabi is trending because it’s one of the most fun and unique ways to celebrate a baby’s first birthday. Although the significance of celebrating a baby’s survival has decreased, we still celebrate a baby’s first birthday because it’s still worthy for a moment of celebration.
In Doljabi, a Doljabi Set is often used and there are many types that you can browse on Joteta’s Doljabi Shop. There are traditional kinds, modern kinds, and classic types that all have different Doljabi items with their own representation.
The fun part for parents is choosing specific Doljabi sets or items that have items that they want their baby to choose to guide their baby to their preferred choice. However, the choice is still up to the baby because they get to choose 1-3 specific items out of 8. Even though the parents get to choose which 8 items will be presented in front of the baby, the baby ultimately gets to choose the item of their choice and the ‘career’ or ‘blessing’ of their future.
So Doljabi is kind of seen as a fortune telling game for babies, and it’s fun! Guests of the party can also partake in this fun celebration by guessing which item the baby will choose by participating in a raffle, or commonly known as a Doljabi raffle.
How do you throw a Doljabi party?
To throw a Doljabi party, one must first purchase a Doljabi set. It’s more fun when items are preselected with careers and blessings which is what you’ll find in a Doljabi set. Then, a host must announce a raffle before the actual party and choose a prize for the winner(s). Often, it’s more fun when there’s more than one winner but that’s completely up to the host.
It’s also imperative that people at the party will know that a fortune-telling like activity will take place so it’s crucial to have a notification or board that notifies people of it at the entrance so people can familiarize themselves with the structure of the event and participate in the raffle.