Korean Tol

Yesterday I posted about one Korean tradition, the wedding ducks. Another important tradition is the Korean Tol, or child’s first birthday celebration. The tradition began long ago when there was a high infant mortality rate. When children reached the age of one, the family has a big celebration, or Tol.

The Tol is typically divided into four main sections.
1.) Prayer and Giving Thanks
2.) Wearing the Birthday Clothes
3.) Preparing the Birthday Table and doing the Toljabee
4.) Sharing the Food with Friends

The traditional clothing for the birthday celebration is a hanbok and I have included a couple of pictures. Many foster families give the adoptive family a hanbok for their child as a gift. When we travel to Korea, we will buy our child a hanbok if we do not receive one from our child’s foster family.





The birthday table can have a variety of foods, but most often has fruit and rice cakes. Many tables often have candy towers. Another part of the Tol is performing the Toljabee. The parents put various items on a special table in front of the child. The tradition states that the item that the child picks up first predicts the child’s future. I’ve listed the most commonly used items below.

bow and arrow: the child will become a warrior
thread: the child will live long
book or pencil: the child will become a successful scholar
money: the child will become rich
ruler: the child will be talented with his/her hands
spoon: the child will be a good cook

We pray that our child will be home before his or her first birthday, so that we will be able to celebrate this as a family. Here is a link to a very elaborate Tol. Obviously it does not have to be this fancy, but I do love the fruit towers!