Turns out that some of the “traditional” things my parents did to me when I was little, like shaving my head and piercing my ears, are not as normal to other people as they are to me.
And that’s the thing about traditions: what’s totally fine and expected to some, can be strange to others.
After sharing the stories of my mom shaving my head when I was a year-and-a-half old so that my hair would grow back thicker, and getting my ears pierced at the hospital just hours after I was born, I wanted to hear from other Latino USA staff about their traditions.
Featured image: Fernanda Echávarri at her grandparents’ house in Mexico in early 1987. Courtesy of Fernanda’s mother.
Hello Fernanda,
Thanks for the article about head shaving, we do have the same tradition in south of india where hindus in south india must shave the baby hair either in 1st year after birth or when they reach 3rd years (only odd years) along with ear piercing for boys & girls alike. This could be based on a religious belief or may be a scientific reason. This is a common cultural tradition between India, West Asia, Americas 1000’s of years before is my research tells me. Please share if you have any further details. Please find the link about the significance of ear piercing in indian/hindu traditions.
https://www.indianmirror.com/culture/indian-folklore/Ear-piercing.html
Thanks
Hi! Ecuadorean here. I also had my head shaved and ears pierced. My mother pushed for my children to follow in the same tradition but in the end we didn’t go through with it.
I never knew the details of the tradition. Feels like there should be more to it than just your hair growing back thicker.