Mongolians have a long tradition of cutting children’s first hair even nowadays. Boys’ hair has to be cut at odd age years such as 3 or 5 and girls are reverse such 2 or 4 etc. This is due to the fact that the odd number symbolizes the arga or male energy (yang) and the even number symbolizes the bileg or female energy (ying). It is also important to prepare food for the children’s haircutting ceremony, especially curd with white raisins and rice with milk. Usually, family members, friends, and co-workers of parents are invited to the ceremony.
Why cut baby hair (first hair of the baby):
It was believed that if the baby’s first hair was not removed, the child would become angry and insane. In some places, it is customary to leave horn-like hair as tenderness to children, while in others it is not mandatory to leave horn-like hair.
It’s crucial to choose a haircutting ceremony according to the Mongolian calendar. After choosing the ceremony day friends, relatives and co-workers would be invited to the venue. The ceremony will be a feast like an event where everybody could eat, drink and enjoy talking with each other. Boy or girl whose hair going be cut would be wearing the fancy clothing as an important person of the day.
Before touching the child’s hair, burn juniper and incense to purify the scissor. To the northwest of the house sits a man with a favorable zodiac sign to the child. This person becomes the most respected person at the feast.
The ceremony will start to being told by a father or grandfather or a feast leader, “Now let’s start the hair cutting ceremony of our son.” Then the son gets up in some areas, the grandfather or father may be the first person to touch the child’s hair, and in some places the child may be touched on the right side of the head, pretending to shave with a wooden knife. Then cut a piece of hair from the side of the forehead with scissors tied to the handle and wrap it around the khadag. Then he tasted the cup of milk and wished the child to live a long and happy life.
After that, the child will walk around in front of parents, elders, and guests, everyone cut a piece of the hair and wraps it in a khadag also everyone will give a gift to the child in the past child used to given a sheep or lamb as a gift. Nowadays almost anything is acceptable as gifts such as toys, pencils, stationery, hair bands, badges, candy, and money, etc.
