Importance of 100 Day celebration

[Katherine Oh]

As a Korean American who grew up celebrating important traditions, I want to bring to light an imporant celebration that was brought up due to the low infant mortalty rates that spread across East Asia during this time. If a child in South Korea ever stayed alive for more than 100 days, the family threw a huge party and invited family members to celebrate. The parents made it a big deal because it was believed that if a baby made it past it's 100th day of survival, he/she will survive the difficult circumstances ahead. Here in the states, the first birthday is very important, but in Korea, the 100th day was even more important because so many children didn't surivive. I was fortunate enough to have my own 100 day celebration, but my circumstances involved health care, vaccinations, and a safe environment.