A very important milestone for a baby in Taiwan is his or her fourth month celebration. Parents celebrate by hosting an Anti-Drooling Ceremony [收涎 (shōuxián)]. To perform an Anti-Drooling Ceremony one must prepare cookies (in multiples of 6 for good luck) and red string. The cookies are made into a necklace to be worn by the baby. These cookies are used by family and friends to wipe the lips of the baby as they say auspicious phrases.
We did this ceremony with Josie when she turned four months old. We may have goofed up part of the ceremony because her drooling increased in the weeks following the ceremony rather than decrease. We didn’t want to make the same mistakes with Nathan so we opted for better cookies this time. We ordered our cookies from Jinny’s Creations [吉尼餅乾] – a company that specializes in Anti-Drooling Ceremony cookies.
We ordered 14 cookies total just incase any were broken during transport or if Josie became jealous of Nathan having so many cookies. The cookies arrived on time and were very well-packed. Out of the 14 we ordered, the apple and the horse didn’t make the final cut to be included on the necklace.
Over the next few weeks we’ll be watching Nathan’s progress closely to insure the ceremony was done correctly. Right now, we’re crossing our fingers.
Todd, i’m curious to know if there is any religious significance to this ceremony. does anyone pray to any particular gods for anything?
The ceremony is religion-free MJ. You can have your own in a couple weeks with your daughter!
My Taiwanese wife claims to know nothing about this ceremony. Is it a local tradition, or is there something she isn’t telling me?
It’s a local tradition Jim and must not be practiced very often because I’ve met a few Taiwanese who haven’t heard of it before.
This was unknown to me. Thanks for sharing.
You’re welcome MKL! Now you’ll have something to do when your baby turns four months old!
I am glad you told us this. I will now have an awesome day, because I know about the anti-drooling ceremony. Not to mention, I will have a great conversation starter!
It’s one of those weird and wonderful local traditions. Thanks for stopping by Sonia!
I’ve never heard of this either. I live in Taichung, and although not Taiwanese, we have adopted a Taiwanese boy and have lived here 12 years. I also have a bit of a business making cakes, cookies, and cupcakes in the more American tradition. Wonder if I should offer these?😉
Hi Sunnie! These cookies were basically western-style cookies and I’ve seen people do this ceremony with a string of mini-donuts around their baby’s neck. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to offer these on a made-to-order basis. Just be sure they have holes, they don’t leave crumbs and that the frosting doesn’t smear.
Unlike everyone else here, I’ve actually heard about this one, although I didn’t know about the cookies.
We didn’t know about the specially made cookies until Cathy did some research on the subject. Thought we would go all out for Nathan because he’s had so many of things handed down from his sister.
What a funny thing to have a ceremony for. You know what? When kids are little, everything they do is amazing and fun. I’m in full support of as many ceremonies as possible for little children as they are utterly fabulous and loads of fun!
Definitely, the next big ceremony is for his first birthday when he gets to pick his future during the Zhua Zhou Activity! https://thedailybubbletea.com/2011/12/19/the-crawling-competition-and-zhua-zhou-activity/
O, exciting!
I saw the cakes like fridge magnet sticker😀 Like the dragon-shaped one.
So, how is Nathan’s progress so far?
The ceremony didn’t work! He’s drooling more and more.
😀
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Inspired by you, I just ordered the cookies! We don’t have this trend of decorated cookies in Singapore and Malaysia. Gona have the ceremony this Sunday!
Hope they all arrived on time! Wishing your child a happy four months!
Thanks for sharing:) My son , Ian does his today and I couldn’t find much info on it. ( also my students who are college age new nothing about it) Fun stuff!
No problem! Hope the family had fun!