Why it is impossible to show the child up to 40 days?

A miracle happened - a little man was born! He is still such a defenseless, delicate little thing. Parents are infinitely happy and in a hurry to share their happiness with the whole world! Or not? Let's turn to the wisdom of our ancestors, and we will see - an old belief says that a newborn can not be shown a stranger, and even indicated for how many days. Let's see why the child is not shown 40 days.

What does Orthodoxy say?

The first reason: religious. The newborn child is not protected from the actions of the surrounding forces. The guardian angel, the protector, appears in the person after baptism. According to the Orthodox tradition, the child is baptized just on day 40 (not earlier) from his birth. And from that moment the kid is already protected from the evil eye and bad thoughts of people. And, according to the belief, you can not show the child not only personally, but even in the photo. Therefore, they were not allowed to photograph children before he was 40 days old.

In general, the number 40 has a certain significance in the Orthodox spiritual world. For example, from the Bible, we know that it was just so many days that a worldwide flood lasted, and the soul of the deceased person arrives on earth for another 40 days. Thus, 40 days is the time that is required for the soul to say goodbye to the earthly world when a person has passed away; 40 days is the time that a newborn needs to adapt to the world and receive the necessary protection.

What does medicine say?

The second reason, explaining why it is impossible to show a child to 40 days, is medical. The infant who was just born, everything is new in the world around him. And air, and things, and people. After the mother's womb, he meets with different microbes and begins to adapt to the environment. To addiction was gradual, it is desirable to limit the number of contacts with different people. After all, the more people, the more viruses. Therefore, in the first days of the baby's life, for the calm adaptation of the most close family members.

The number of those who can show the child up to 40 days, of course, includes parents, siblings, grandparents, ie. the most native people.

Now that you know both reasons, it's up to you to decide whether to show the child to strangers before he turns 40.