| Annaprashana (anna, rice prashana,
eating) a Hindu ceremony marking a baby's introduction to solid food,
ie rice. For this ceremony a baby boy needs to be about six to eight months
old and a baby girl about seven to nine months.
Previously, the naming ceremony used to coincide with annaprashana.
Rites like homa (fire offering), vriddhi (worshipping
of ancestors and deities) etc. were performed, but nowadays the
ceremony is generally very simple. In most cases, only a few grains
of dried rice-offerings of Lord jagannath
of Puri are placed in the mouth of the baby. The ceremony nowadays
is more celebratory than religious.
[Anjalika Mukhopadhyay]
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Annaprashana |
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