What is a Korean Baek-Il? A Korean Baby's 100 Day Celebration
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We celebrated Luke’s Baek-il (백일) back in August when he turned 100 days old. This was a special moment for us and I wanted to blog about why!
What is a Korean Baek-il?
Baek-il is the Korean celebration of a baby’s 100 days of life. The 100 days is a special milestone celebrated in Korean culture due to the high level of infant mortality seen in the past. Though not so much anymore, babies were not allowed outside or to be seen by anyone other than family members before this milestone to protect them from disease. Today, it is a celebration for both the baby and parents for having survived the hardest part of parenthood!
Why do Koreans gift gold rings?
In Korean culture, 24k pure gold rings are the traditional gift of choice for baek-il (100 days) or dohl (1st birthday) celebrations. Gold rings symbolize the good health, wealth, and prosperity that family members wish on the baby. These rings are usually kept in a safe place until the child reaches adulthood, at which point parents melt the rings into larger pieces of jewelry to give to their child. Parents will also cash in a part of the gold rings to pay for their child’s education. While the tradition of gifting rings is slowly decreasing, I saw these rings as our family’s way of blessing Luke with their love and prayers.
How to host a small party during the pandemic
Due to the growing pandemic, we were actually thinking about not doing anything for Luke’s baek-il. I was struggling heavily with postpartum depression at the time, and the fact that Luke’s paternal grandparents wouldn’t be able to travel from California to celebrate with us had us feeling sad. It was by chance that I had won a giveaway from Jaqie’s Events (@jaqiesevents) who graciously gifted us this party, and I truly believe it was God’s hand reaching out to encourage us during one of our darkest times. (Thank you again, Jaqie! You have no idea how much it meant to us.)
Luke’s baek-il was short and sweet. We hosted a small gathering of immediate family members and video-chatted those who could not be there. It gave us an opportunity to wear something other than pajamas for the first time in 3 months and take lots of photos with our beautiful baby boy. It also gave us a chance to reflect on the craziness of the first 100 days of Luke’s life - to laugh together, to share the highs and lows, and to soak in our new reality as a family of three.
Details
Event planning: I highly recommend Jaqie’s Events (@jaqiesevents) who did a fantastic job with the decor. She painted the canvas behind the gold, acrylic 'Luke’ sign after I sent her some inspo pics and is one of the sweetest people I’ve ever met. She made my dream come true with the setup!
Cake and cookies: From Sugarsuckle (@sugarsuckle)
Felt crown: Handmade by my lovely sister-in-law, Stephanie (See similar one here)
Luke’s outfit: Seersucker Vest, Bodysuit & Pants Set by ANDY&EVAN
My blue dress: Lace Fit & Flare Dress by Rachel Parcell (See similar one here and here)
Husband’s shirt: Slim Fit Linen Button-Down Shirt by Nordstrom
