Hua yuan yu, the flower bath
On the day of chu huayuan the child is bathed in water steeped with twelve kinds of flowers and leaves — washed clean of childhood.
Pronunciation huā yuán yù｜Rites of life｜One entry in the Chaoshan glossary
What it means
The day before, twelve kinds of flowers and leaves are gathered — zhuangyuan bamboo, pomegranate flower, mandarin leaf, green bamboo leaf, fairy grass and the like, differing from place to place; around Chenghai and Chao’an they take six pairs. On the day itself the leaves are steeped in water and the child is bathed in it. This is the hua yuan yu.
After the bath come new clothes and new shoes, mostly red, and red leather clogs on the feet. In the old account a new bib is tied on as well, holding twelve longans and two copper coins.
When you see it
On the day of chu huayuan, in the year the child turns fifteen by the old count. The flower water is boiled first thing in the morning; the bath is the opening of the whole rite — only after it are the clothes changed and the offerings made to the bed goddess.
Words easily confused
The hua yuan yu washes the person; it is not the hua yuan table, which is the noon meal with the child in the seat of honour. The third-day bath also uses mugwort and pomelo leaf boiled in water, but that is on the third day after birth and is for cleansing, a different stage altogether.
Read next: Chu huayuan: the date, the offerings and the order of the rite.
See also: Rites of life: the five thresholds side by side.
Same group: the bib, chu huayuan, the red clogs.
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Last revised: 3 November 2026