burning the midnight toljabi

the traditional korean first birthday includes a custom which is said to give indicators of the child's adult life. the table is spread with items which represent certain attributes or aspects of a happy future. for example, money to symbolize wealth; string symbolizes long life; rice, prosperity. there is, apparently, some leniency for adding your own items- lucia's toljabi included one of eli's toy airplanes, and a computer mouse, suggesting, perhaps sparse muscle mass and poor social skills. lucia suited up in her crisp new hambok for the event.





one of the complications of limited communication is that our schedule was, to some extent, dependent on the whims of our hosts. case in point, lucia's birthday party, which was held one night at 11pm, after a full day of playing at the beach. to say the children were tired would be like saying nicholas cage has made a couple of bad movies. unable to work schedules out at any other hour, we woke the baby up once the cake and toljabi table was all in place, letting the other kids sleep through the festivity in its entirety. as you can see from the film, she was a little on edge. from the point the video ends, she was passed out in bed in about ten seconds.

as far as the meaning of the airplane, she may have been attracted to the taegeuk, the korean yin and yang symbolizing the harmony of heaven and earth painted on the tail, maybe the airplane means she will travel the world.

i think she just saw a once in a lifetime opportunity to actually hold one of eli's toys without fear of reprisal.