INDIAN BABY SHOWER CEREMONY

In Tamil it is called as seemantham or valaikaapu means “the expecting mother wear bangles”. This ceremony is performed during the first odd months of pregnancy mostly during the seventh month for the expectant mother in her mother’s house. Prayers are invoked for the well-being of the mother to be and the fetus mostly married women are invited for this function. The expectant mother is made to wear a lot of bangles mostly glass ones of colorful colors and the sound of these bangles are supposed to reach the womb. It is also believed that the baby can hear the bangles clinking sound and the baby will know that it is welcomed. Guess bring gifts for the mother such as bangles, jewelry, sarees, fruits, and sweets because they believe that if the mother is pleased, then the baby will be happy too. Only vegetarian food will be prepared. 

During the ceremony, there is music played, and the expecting mother decked in bright color and expensive traditional attire (saree) with a lots of flowers and garland made of jasmine or mogra. A swing is decorated with flowers of her choice which she uses to sit and swing. The ceremony starts by the husband having to break a coconut and put the garland on expectant mother. Than the bangle ceremony starts, married ladies blessed the expectant mother by adorning the bangles on her and prayed for a safe delivery and healthy baby. After that she will asked to pick one of the three bundles of different taste

of rice tied in a white masculine cloth. The three bundles being ponggal rice(sweet),  puli rice (tamarind) and tayiru (yogurt) rice. If the mother pick the tamarind or yogurt rice (both of which sour), she will be having baby boy and if you pick the sweet rice it’s predicted that it’s a baby girl. The expectant mother than will be feeded with sweets and those three taste rice by her husband, parents and parents in law. Then guests will be served food. At the end a small gift contain of auspicious things like turmeric stick, kum kum, thali string, bangles and betel leave with betel nut.