Traditions to welcome a new baby

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My husband, who's grandmother came to Canada from Sweden, and I are holding a ceremony to welcome our new baby girl. We wondering if anyone knows of traditional (non-religious) customs to welcome the arrival of a new baby. Particular gifts? Food? Any suggestions?

[Christina Backman]

Apart from opening a bank account I can?t off-hand think of any traditional, non-religious Swedish custom to welcome a new baby. A lucky charm in the form of a gold four-leaved clover was what I and eventually also my daughters were given.

[Marianne Solli]

Rites-of-passage  
Utskriftsvennlig versjon    
 
 
In all cultures, at all times, human beings have celebrated the great turning points of life in their rites-of-passage. In Norway, the Norwegian Humanist Association offers to assist those who wish to celebrate birth, coming of age, marriage or death in a non-religious way.    
 
CELEBRATING BIRTH  
 
The traditional way of greeting a new-born child in Norway was to baptize, the baby thus becomes a new member of the State Church. The last decades? rate of baptism has dropped. Some of the reasons are expanding secularisation and growing dissatisfaction with the teachings of the church.    
 
Since the late seventies the Norwegian Humanist Association has distributed material to those parents who want an alternative ceremony to celebrate a newborn child. Since 1988 our local branches have arranged civil celebrations. This has filled a long felt need.  
 
Perhaps the Norwegian Humanists have the answer. You may contact them on
 
http://www.human.no/

[Ingela Martenius]

Congratulations on the new baby!
 
I think many Swedes have either a birth-spoon or a christening-spoon (or both) in their drawers. This would be a spoon in sterling silver, larger than a coffee spoon but smaller than a dessert spoon. The spoon does not form part of any set. In Sweden these spoons can e g be engraved with a clock on the shaft (this would be a birth spoon) and the clock shows the exact time the baby was born. Also on the shaft would be engraved the date and sometimes the baby's name (if decided on at this early stage). A christening spoon would have an engraving of the baby's name and the date of the Christening.
These spoons are just the right size to feed the baby and in later years you use them for jam.
 
Giving a newborn baby a silver spoon is a very old tradition in Sweden - in the old days the rural population (we're talking 90-95% of the population) always put any savings they could make into silver spoons, cups and bowls. The silver was proudly displayed and used at the formal dinners and parties held for christenings, marriages and burials, maybe also for Christmas and Easter. So this was the old way of opening a bank account in the baby's name. Personally I think the old way wasn't a bad idea - aside from the security aspect of course - since you could enjoy viewing and using beautiful things instead of a plastic card and numbers on a screen.
 
It's not uncommon either to start giving the baby silver cutlery; god-parents could e g give half-a-dozen coffee spoons (the set pattern agreed with the parents) at the christening. They would then follow this up by giving single items of the set at Christmas and birthdays, finishing off when the child finishes high school or turns 18 or something like that.
 
In the old days traditional food at the time of a birth was basically high in calories and other nutrients. The food was brought to the house by neighbouring women and was for the mother, to keep her strength up. Traditionally Sweden - along with the rest of northern Europe - has always been a milk country, i e products made from the milk of cows (and to some extent goats and sheep) have been favoured. Eggs were also highly thought of, and generally speaking food made from eggs and milk were thought very appropriate for a recently delivered woman. Nowadays most women think more of slimming down after giving birth so the tradition of special food died out many years ago.
 
Ingela

[Anders Ellerstrand]

I totally agree on what Ingela has written above. I have silverspoons given to my grandfathers grandfather when he was a new-born in 1839. A few links on the types common in Sweden today;  
 
boy or girl?
spoons and other gifts
spoon 1
spoon 2
 
The most traditional ceremony of course is the christening ceremony in the church. There You would present the new member of the church to the family and the rest of the parish. The person carrying the child in church is the god mother/father and You could designate two more persons as godparents or sponsors. These are (traditionally) to take responsibility for the religious upbringing of the child, but should also be prepared to act as parents if the real parents would die.
 
After the ceremony the family would join in the family home and gifts are given - like the spoon and other things, often made of silver. They could be boxes for the childs first tooth, picture frames or other things.
 
If You don?t like to have a religious ceremony I would still do it the same way...
 
Gather the family. Hold up the child and introduce it to family and friends, saying it?s name. If You like to You could ask a person or two to be sponsors, and the meaning of that could be whatever You choose. I myself like the idea that if I would die I have, by choosing godparents, given my opinion of who I would like to take care of my child.  
 
Have a special book where You note who was there and what gifts were given.

[Thomas Vikander]

Born between 1938 and 1948, my 3 brothers and I were each given on our first birtday, a silver tea spoon with first given name and birthdate engraved on the back of the handle. Our parents are from Dalarna.
 
May I offer the idea that you can as well create your own baby naming ceremony?
 
Best regards,
Thomas