Red Egg and Ginger Parties

“Do not kill the hen for her eggs.” -Chinese proverb

Eggs abounded everywhere this past weekend (plastic and real). We even decorated some ourselves:

In Chinese, there’s also a custom involving dyed eggs. Red eggs. (As an aside, Orthodox Christians also use red eggs, symbolizing the blood of Christ and rebirth.) My own reference is to a cultural red egg and ginger party.

These festive occasions arrive on the one-month birthday of a new baby in the family. In the old days, the one-month mark was very significant. Because of the high mortality rate, babies who succeeded in reaching that age would usually go on to survive.

What’s the importance of the different components?

Egg–to symbolize life and fertility
Red–for good luck and prosperity
Ginger–to add hot spice and balance yin & yang; also to provide energy to the new mother