Usually in Javanese culture when a women is pregnant the family has a 'baby shower' for her during her 7th month. This event is usually full of rituals to "ensure" the health and beauty of the baby that is about to be born. Some of these rituals include:First, the mom-to-be and dad-to-be ask for a prayer of blessing from their parents.
Then, this baby shower includes a real shower for the mom-to-be! This is to cleanse the body and soul of the mom-to-be so that she will have peace and comfort during labor.
Next, an egg is dropped through a cloth wrapped around the mom's belly - whether or not the egg breaks determines the gender of the baby! Then, the same thing is done with two young coconuts, to symbolize a smooth labor process.
After that, the mom-to-be puts on seven different outfits! After each one, the hostess asks "Is this one suitable?" and the group shouts "Not yet!" until the seventh outfit. Then, everyone shouts "That's the one!" This ritual is to ensure that the baby grows up to be a good person.
Since believers here don't believe that these rituals will ensure these things, we decided to have an American baby shower for Ibu Kristine. Our shower consisted of food, presents, and of course games. The picture below (R) is a game where everyone had to guess how much string is required to fit around mom-to-be's belly.
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