Choosing Your Destiny

I recently learned that many other asian cultures also do this choosing your destiny thing. My officemate's husband's family who are chinese and my manager who is indian also did similar things for babies in their family. I am going to have to remember to call my mom to ask her what I grabbed on my first birthday. Because Donut grabbed the microphone, money and book... leading many to believe that she's going to be the next Oprah...which when you think about it, ain't all THAT bad.

Here's an excerpt from Wikipedia that talks about what was traditionally placed out for the dojabi, literally meaning "first birthday grabbing." We bought a kit that contained an inappropriate looking whistle hammer, stethescope, football and microphone in addition to the traditional stuff.

There is an interesting event called Doljabi during this party. The baby is propped up at a table of various foods and an assortment of objects and urged to pick up one of the items. It is believed the item the baby picks up symbolically foretells his or her own future or would influence his or her fate.

On the table are usually money, a large bundle of thread, rice, and a pencil. If the baby picks money, it means he or she is going to be wealthy. Rice means the baby will never have to go hungry throughout life, which was a very important aspect when people often suffered from famines. The baby will live a long life with thread and be a scholar by picking a pencil.
Now some parents put a computer mouse on the table, which means the success in the high-tech field, or a toothbrush, hoping that the baby will be a dentist.