Thursday, December 24, 2015

Agra Hadik

Having been brought up Protestant, Marash Girl does not know a lot about the Agra Hadik tradition, but since her grandchildren have been born, she's been an ardent enthusiast.  Today the family will celebrate Dylan Marie's Hadik, yes, albeit on Christmas Eve.  What is Hadik?

When a baby approaches six months old, it is traditional in the Armenian culture to mark the occasion with a Hadik celebration, a celebration of the baby's first tooth.  As Marash Girl understands it, (and please add your comments below, for she's sure you may know more about this celebration than she does), the family invites close friends and relatives to a small afternoon party where a blanket is spread out on the floor, on the blanket is placed various object that represent occupations (for example, a pencil to represent a writer, a gavel to represent a judge, a large cooking spoon to represent a cook, a cross to represent a priest or minister, a comb to represent a hairdresser, a stethoscope to represent a doctor . . . you get the idea).  The baby is then placed on the blanket surrounded by the guests who try to encourage the baby to reach for the favored profession of that particular guest.  When the baby finally reaches for an object (for example, a soup ladle), the guests cheer and hug the baby, and then drop some "Hadik" on the baby's head to try to make the baby laugh and show that first tooth.  The guests then gather around the large bowl of Hadik (hulled wheat -- which when cooked, looks exactly like a baby tooth -- cooked up with sugar and cinnamon) and partake of the Hadik, laughing and wishing the baby well.  The hadik is followed by pastries and coffee/tea for the guests, or, if the party takes place during supper time, a full meal is enjoyed by all.

3 comments:

  1. Spot on! Also, the baby's first tooth is regarded as a "single" tooth at that juncture of the baby's life(obviously), which is connotative of a single grain, thus the word "Hadig = հատիկ", which means a grain or granule. That's why our little ones are always and will always be "Meg Hadig = մէկ հատիկ = one of a kind", at any age. BTW, my son caught a pen at his Hadig celebration several decades ago, but he became not a writer, but an engineer. Merry Christmas to you and your family dear Marash Girl.

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  2. Love the ritual! And the food/festivities associated with it, of course. The Steiner/Waldorf system also marks teething events as transition times in child's maturity - first tooth, six year molars, full teen teeth, wisdom teeth - as being points at which child learns/should be instructed differently

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