Baby D's 1st "TOL"

The Tol table was carefully and painstakingly set by my daughter in law.
Each item has a significance and some items were set to honor
ancestors. There were items to remember birth and foster mothers.

Just some of the party goodies. A perfect blend of American
and Korean cuisine.

My daughter explains the significance of the 1st Tol which is a

big celebration in Korea. Tol means Birthday. In the old days

many Korean babies died before they were one year old due

to disease and other conditions. If they made it to one year

their chances of survival were much higher. So Koreans

rent halls as their homes are small and have a big bash.

One of the rituals is that.....
The child chooses from several items and he is allowed 3
and being superstitious people they believe these will
determine the child's path in life. So what did baby D
choose?


Baby D chose a basketball which means he will be a great
athlete like his Po Po. Secondly he chose yarn which means
he will have a long life. Finally he chose a microphone
which means he will be a rock star. The strange thing is
after choosing these first he took the hammer and clung
to it all day. The hammer signifies strength. He is wearing
his Hanbok which is a traditional Korean costume.
He did not pull his hat off but he changed for the rest of the
activities.


We had cake and Baby D had his first taste of sugar and he did justice to his cake.

Then it was time to open presents. He had a 4 year old

helper but managed to give equal time to all his

newly acquired goodies.

Proud family on this special day. Uncle Scott got the honor of holding

D as Appa had hurt his back that morning. I need to say that this was

such a memorable day that I will remember forever . I should

thank my daughter in law for being so meticulous in her planning

and for her desire to preserve the Korean culture for this

truly wonderful child that we have been so lucky to add to

our family.