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It's a Taiwanese tradition called Anti-Drooling Ceremony [收涎 (shōuxián) 1. Marie biscuits (in multiples of 6), stringed together with a red thread like a necklace (to represent no drooling), 2. Chicken drumstick. The licking of the chicken drumstick sort of signifies that she'll eat well next time. 3. Spring Onions. The spring onions (葱) has the same sound as clever (聪明) 4. Prawns - signifies that we want her to grow up being happy always. 5. Tau Kwa - to signify to rise up the ranks 6. Ang Bao - grandma must present a red packet 7. Trim hair - hair on a newborn’s head is the “birth hair” that grew in the womb and something of significance. Shaving the hair lets you remove this hair and keep it for luck and protection.
4 mths custom i did for my son was to buy some stuffs like chicken drumstick unchopped, ku cai, marie biscuit. marie biscuits must be string with a red thread around the baby's neck like wearing necklace like dat. This is believed to reduce drooling. Ku Cai is to prevent him from having fever during teething stages. Chicken Drumstick is to allow him to taste food and ensuring he has more than enough food in his life.
No hard and fast rule though. If i remembered correctly, drumstick (uncut), marie biscuits, spring onions, chives, tau kwa. If u google and search through the net, there are so many options nowadays.
Drumstick, Beancurd/ Tua Kwa, Prawn, Ku Cai and also a lot Marie Biscuit tied into red string and let baby wear on the neck.
This was ours just did recently. We never use prawns and no trimming of hair
Aki Kim