Full-Month Customs: From “Calling the Hawk” to Full-Month Gifts, a Century of Change in Taiwan’s Child-Rearing Culture

30-Second Overview: Taiwan’s full-month customs are undergoing a quiet revolution “from valuing elaborate ritual to valuing sentiment.” In the past, elders shouted the hawk’s name toward the sky, trying to preserve the child from mysterious forces; today, parents select refined full-month gift boxes, turning the joy of a newborn’s arrival into a marker of cultural taste within their social circles. This article takes you into the history of child-rearing rites as they evolved from agrarian society to the digital age.

“The owl-hawk flies up the mountain; may the baby quickly become an official. The owl-hawk flies high; may the baby pass the imperial examination.”

In rural Taiwan in the 1950s, on the day an infant turned one month old, elders would carry the child outdoors, strike the ground with a bamboo pole, and shout loudly toward the sky. This rite, known as hamˇ li iquˇ (喊利鷂, “calling the hawk”) or “calling the owl-hawk,” sounds like a lively celebration, but for parents at the time it was more like a “survival negotiation” with nature. In an era when medical care was underdeveloped, a child’s safe passage through the first month of life was regarded as the first major threshold of survival.

📝 Curator’s Note: Every rite in the full-month customs was like an ancient “life insurance policy,” a way to confront unknown afflictions and dangers.

Snatching a Child from the Hawk’s Mouth: The Mysterious _Hamˇ Li Iquˇ_

In Hakka and Hoklo traditions, hamˇ li iquˇ (Hakka: hamˇ li iquˇ) is a custom with vivid imagery. In early Taiwanese farming households, chickens were commonly raised, and people most feared hawks or owl-hawks swooping down to carry off chicks. Folk practice transformed this fear into protection for infants: by loudly driving the hawk away, families symbolically expelled evil forces and illnesses that might harm the child ¹.

The rite was usually performed by older siblings or elders in the household. They held bamboo poles and struck the ground; the sound had to be loud, the movements forceful. Interestingly, as the chant evolved, the fear behind driving the hawk away gradually turned into blessing. Beyond hoping the hawk would fly far away, the formulas also prayed that the child would one day “become an official,” “pass the imperial examination,” or “quickly become a father” ². This turn from “warding off evil” to “praying for blessings” is one of the warmest transformations in Taiwanese folk culture.

Hair Shaving and Courage-Making: Building Life’s “Defenses”

The most important physical ritual on the full-month day is “shaving the birth hair.” This was not merely to help the child’s future hair grow thicker; it also carried the religious meaning of “discarding the old and welcoming the new.”

In the shaving basin, elders placed the “ten ritual items,” each with its own symbolism:

• Stone: A wish that the child would have a “steady head” (a hard skull) and grow up courageous ³.
• Red chicken eggs and red duck eggs: A prayer that the child’s complexion would be fair and rosy like a chicken egg, and the body strong like a duck egg ³.
• Scallions and celery: Homophones for “cleverness” and “diligence” ³.
• Rice: A symbol of ample food and clothing ³.
• Copper coins: A symbol of wealth and status, and of never lacking food or clothing in the future ⁴.

The “courage-making” rite was especially important. Elders gently rolled chicken eggs and duck eggs beside the baby, then placed a round stone in the washbasin while reciting, “May the stone give you courage; may it make your head hard,” praying that the baby would be brave and easy to raise ⁵. This reflects early society’s fear of “fright”: only a child with courage could survive in an environment full of unknowns.

The Flow of Full-Month Gifts: From Oil Rice to French Cakes

When we turn to the present, the most conspicuous change in full-month customs lies in “food.”

Traditionally, families gave “oil rice and chicken legs” for a boy and “red turtle cakes” for a girl. Oil rice symbolized ample food and clothing, while chicken legs represented vigorous life force ⁶. With the spread of refrigerated delivery and changes in lifestyles, however, modern parents’ choices are no longer bound by gendered frameworks.

In recent years, more and more new parents have tended to choose “shelf-stable full-month gift boxes” or “cookies from charitable organizations” ⁷. This is convenient for delivery, but it also reflects the values of modern parents who hope to connect their child’s birth with “social good.” French madeleines and refined pound cakes have gradually replaced traditional oil rice, becoming the most eye-catching images on social media.

Modern full-month gifts have also become more diverse. Beyond traditional oil rice and cakes, practical gifts such as diapers, clothing, wet wipes, and gold jewelry have also become popular options. Red-envelope amounts for full-month celebrations vary according to the closeness of the relationship: ordinary friends and relatives usually give about NT$600 to NT$1,200, while close friends or relatives may give NT$1,200 to NT$3,600 ⁸.

📝 Curator’s Note: The evolution of full-month gifts is in fact a miniature portrait of Taiwan society’s shift from “family-oriented” to “socially oriented” life: the box of sweets parents send is both a gesture announcing good news and a display of lifestyle taste.

Modern Challenges: Negotiating Ritual Across Generations

Although customs are changing, clashes between generations persist. Many elders insist on the scale of “third-day courage-making” or a “full-month banquet,” while modern parents tend to prefer small gatherings or simply sharing the news online ⁹.

Such conflicts often occur in the details of “return gifts.” In traditional custom, on the full-month day the maternal family needed to prepare “head-to-toe gifts” (clothing and accessories from head to foot, such as hats, shoes and socks, baby carriers, gold locks, gold bracelets, and so on), embroidered with the “卍” character to signify peace and safety, and present them to the grandchild ⁵. Modern parents, however, may prefer to receive a practical child-rearing fund directly ¹⁰. This shift from “material gifts” to “practical gifts” is the real face of Taiwan’s child-rearing culture in the digital age.

Some traditional taboos are also worth noting. For example, before an infant reaches one month, the child’s immunity is relatively low and guests should not be received too early; traditionally, people avoid shaving a baby’s head in the seventh lunar month; there is even a saying that “when a girl is born, do not give a baby carrier,” because the word sounds like “a thousand gold pieces,” an expression for a daughter, with the aim of avoiding having another girl in the next birth ⁵. These details all reflect differences and negotiations between generations over how to bless new life.

Conclusion: An Unchanged Heart of Protection

From shouting at hawks in the sky to sharing photos of full-month cakes on a phone screen, Taiwan’s full-month customs have changed dramatically in form, but their core has never changed: they are the purest protection offered to new life.

Whether it is the old wish for a “steady head” or the modern “charity gift box,” these rites all tell the child: this world is ready to welcome your arrival.

Further Reading

• Complete Guide to Full-Month Rituals: Hair Shaving, Worshiping the Bed Mother, and Head-to-Toe Gifts from the Maternal Family - 拜出好運來
• A Quick Guide to Newborn Full-Month Customs: From Naming Taboos to Shaving Birth Hair and Full-Month Gifts - 媽媽寶寶

References