A Special Family Celebration
Dear Friends,
I recently had an opportunity to photograph a very special family celebration, a Pasni or a Nepali Rice Feeding Ceremony. Many of you know that our son was born in Nepal. I have a great affection for Nepal and its people. It is a beautiful country and my husband and I found the people to be gentle and kind during our time there. But that's another story for another time.
Perhaps you don't know a lot, or anything, about this Nepali celebration. Because our son was almost 4 years old when we brought him home from Nepal, admittedly I had never heard of a Pasni celebration. Well, come along with me as I share what I learned and the joy that I witnessed.
Pasni is when a Nepali child is fed his or her first bite of food other than milk, which is rice. This celebration is held at five months old for daughters and six months old for sons. Relatives and friends are invited to witness and to celebrate with the parents. This particular Pasni celebration was unique in that three sets of parents, all with infant sons, cousins to one another, were celebrating their first bite of rice on the same day! A bit hectic, for sure, but also beautiful to witness. Traditionally, it is the baby's mother who feeds their child their first bite of rice. But because of the unique circumstances, the three mothers decided to give the honor to the babies' grandparents.
The babies were dressed in beautiful outfits made of red velvet and silk and embroidered with silver and gold thread. After the grandparents fed their grandsons their first bite of rice, they placed a tika, a mixture of red powder and rice, on each baby's forehead. This is a blessing for the baby.
Afterward, other family members including aunts and cousins were invited to feed the babies.
Gifts of gold bracelets and money envelopes for the children were also given by grandparents and aunts as a token of love, luck, and prosperity.
It was truly beautiful to watch the matriarch of the family as she blessed all of her grandchildren by placing a tika on their foreheads and bowing to their feet offering an additional good omen and as a sign of respect and honor.
After the rice feeding ceremony concluded, like all family reunions, there was a lot of great food to be eaten,
tired babies to care for,
and lots of love and laughter!
Thank you to my friends Jyotsana and Adam, and to all of the new friends that I made that day, for inviting me to be a part of your joyful Pasni celebration!
To see more images from this celebration, please visit my website www.katebuckleyphotography.com. There you will also find everything you need to know to book your session to capture special moments from your family celebrations or a day-in-the-life session.
For the Love of Mothers
Mother's Day is less than two weeks away. Admit it. Mother's Day is a big deal. I remember not so many years ago before everyone had a mobile phone and therefore depended on a landline, some people complained because their telephone call to their mom on Mother's Day wouldn't go through due to "high call volume." I seem to recall that the call volume on Mother's Day was second only to Christmas day.
Whether or not you are a mother, you have a mother. And even if your mother is no longer here, it's still a very special day. Perhaps you're now a grandmother. (I hear that it's as great as being a mother but perhaps even better because you've kicked back all of the un-fun stuff like discipline, bedtime, and "eat-your-vegetables" to the parents, your adult children.)
Here I am with my mom, the best mom ever (and I truly hope that you would say the same of your mom,) in the fall of 1965. She used to make matching outfits for us. I have no earthly idea how she had time to do such things. I am one of five kids. My mom's generation was called The Greatest Generation with good reason.
Moms come in all shapes and sizes and are each blessed with the most extraordinary gifts. I think most would agree that moms are patient beyond measure.
Moms are also there when you need them.
They are often the first to make you laugh in the morning.
And the last to kiss you goodnight.
Simply said, our moms love us unconditionally and make us happy.
This Mother's Day, give your mom (or grandmother, sister, aunt, or best friend) the gift of captured precious memories. Memories that you will want to have forever. So years from now, you will not only remember what your family looked like, but what those days felt like. Visit www.katebuckleyphotography.com to book a documentary photography session.
P.S. New this spring. . .Documentary-style (think unposed, unfiltered, fun!) photography sessions are now available to capture your special family occasions including baptisms, first communions, graduations, birthday parties, anniversaries, first day of school, last day of school, getting ready for the prom and other "Gee, I-wish-we-had-Kate-photograph-that-for-us" celebrations. And as always, your family is how you decide to define family. For example, I also love to capture extended families including multiple generations or couples with their fur babies (aka their pets.) Contact me for details.