Choosing a Name for a Baby

Choosing a Name for a Baby

About one billion people live in India. Most of these people are Hindu. The Hindu religion is also a way of life. In the Hindu religion,there are special ceremonies for important times in a person’s life.There are sixteen ceremonies in all. For each ceremony there is a special fire,and priests say prayers and read from a special book. One of these ceremonies is choosing a name for the baby.

The birth of a baby is a happy time in a Hindu family. Soon after the baby is born,the parents wash the baby and write the word in honey with a pen of gold. Om is special word in the Hindu religion.Hindus says this word over and over again when they are praying.

Twelve days after the baby is born,a priest visits the family to name the baby. The priest makes a horoscope fort he baby. To make this horoscope,the priests writes down where the stars and planets were at the time baby was born.From this,he reads the baby’s future and suggests a good name for the baby. Many children have names of Hindu gods and goddesses or have names with other religious meanings.

At the ceremony,there are guests. The mother holds the baby. The father is on one side. In front of them,there is a plate with rice on it. The father uses a long,thin piece of gold to write the name of the family god,the baby’s name, and date of birth in the rice. Then he says the baby’s name in the baby’s right ear. The priest then blesses the baby. He also blesses the candies and food and then passes them to the guests. This ends the ceremony of giving a name to a baby.