About one billion people live in India. Most of these people are Hindu. The Hindu religion is also a way of life. In the Hindu religion,there are special ceremonies for important time in a person's life. There are sixteen ceremonies in all. for each ceremonies there is a special fire, and priests say prayer and read for a special book. One of these ceremonies is choosing a name for a baby.
The birth of a baby is a happy time in a Hindu family. Soon after the baby is born, the parents wash the baby and write the word om on the baby's tongue. They write the word in honey with a pen of gold.Om is special word in Hindu religion. Hindus say this word over and over again when they are praying.
Twelve days after baby is born, a priests visit the family to name the baby. The priests make a horoscope for the baby. To make this horoscope the priests, the priest writes down where the stars and planets were at the time the baby was born. From his, reads the baby's future and suggests a good name for the baby. Many children have names of Hindu gods and goddesses or have names with other religious meanings.
At the ceremony, there are guest. The mother hold the baby. The father is on one side . In front of them, there is a plate with rice on it. The father uses a long, thin piece of gold to write the name of the family god, the baby's name , and the date of birth in the rice. Then he says the baby's name in the baby's right ear. The priests then blesses the baby. He also blesses the candies and food and then passes them to the guests. This ends the ceremony of giving a name to a baby.