Man yue, the full month
The child’s first month, called arriving at the month; the grandmother’s family coming to congratulate is called making the month out, and the mother has her face threaded before she may leave the room.
Pronunciation mǎn yuè｜Rites of passage｜One entry in the Chaoshan glossary
What it means
The full month is called arriving at the month here; the grandmother’s family coming to congratulate is called making the month out. The grandmother brings live chicken, pork and noodles, along with a dress, a bib, a carrying cloth, red shoes, a cat hat and a cradle, and eggs — in even numbers for a boy, odd for a girl.
The mother has her face threaded on this day: thread is twisted over the face to lift the down, so that her face is as clear as the full moon. Only after that is the rite complete, and only then may she leave the room and go back to ordinary life.
When you see it
Whether the full month or the first birthday is the greater occasion differs by county: in some places the month is done large and the birthday is a family meal, in others the reverse. In Huilai, for a boy and especially a first child, the month was kept whatever the family’s means; some kept the twelfth day instead — that one given by the mother’s parents for the grandchild, the month by the father’s parents — with a standing rule that a family which has done the twelfth day does not do the month.
Words easily confused
The full month and the twelfth day are both congratulations, and it is a different household that stands the cost. The first haircut happens on the day of the month; it is one item within this rite, not another rite.
Read next: Birth rites: the third day, the full month, the first birthday.
See also: Rites of passage: five thresholds, wan mian, threading the face.
Same group: the first haircut, the twelfth day, threading the face.
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Last revised: 3 November 2026