The question of whether or not a child's hair can be cut becomes relevant in a family where a baby was recently born. Parents are faced with a lot of problems: in the heat, because of the 'powerful hair', the head of the crumbs becomes sweaty, long bangs reach into the eyes, the back of the baby's head is bald, and in other places you can make tails from the strands. 
Old believers advise to endure cutting the baby's curls until he is 40 days old
An irresistible desire arises, to cut excess curls, but the prohibition that this should not be done is frightening, until the baby overcomes the annual milestone. It is worth figuring out how this sign appeared in order to make the right choice for yourself.
About baby hair
Some babies have very sparse and soft hairs, while others are born with a thick cover on their heads. Accordingly, it is impossible to cut everyone with the same brush. Therefore, if long strands interfere with the baby, they need to be trimmed. But Old Believers advise to have patience to cut the baby's curls until he is 40 days old.
Cropped baby hairs up to a year old are considered 'magic' (they can restore health to their little owner), so many mothers do not throw them away.
What else do they do with the child's bobbed hair:
- The cut off hair is rolled into a tourniquet and stored in a medallion – this is how a talisman for the baby and mother is obtained.
- In some countries (for example, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia), strands cut off from a child are placed between the pages of a thick book (secular or religious). It is believed that this will make the offspring smart, since the curls have feedback from the person.
- To prevent the use of children's hair by magicians (who can spoil) or birds (who use any material for nesting), the cut strands are burned or buried.
- In order to attract wealth and success to the child, hair trimming is buried in an anthill, in a garden bed or in a forest.
- Some connoisseurs will recommend to bury children's hairs at the intersection.
Many modern mothers do not know the old rituals, so they cut their hair and keep the 'baby fluff' as a family heirloom. For this purpose, there are special envelopes, bags that are attached to a children's album with photographs and other artifacts.
Signs and superstitions about a haircut up to a year
Not only modern esoteric specialists, but also the ancient Slavs believed that hair has the strongest energy. They even called the curls 'cosmes' from the word 'space'.
Hair was the link between man and heavenly forces. Perhaps for this reason, in ancient times, everyone walked with long strands, regardless of gender and age.
It was not customary for many peoples to cut girls from the moment they were born until marriage. Boys got by without a haircut only during the most vulnerable period of their lives.
In the old days, children gave birth to many, and they often died in infancy. Poor living conditions and lack of medical assistance affected. This is how the belief arose that during the first year of life, the soul of the baby 'looks closely' to the family in order to leave relatives if they do not like them.
Shortening the hair of a child under one year old was associated with clipping the tongue
So that mothers would not be “grief-stricken” for a long time, popular wisdom did not recommend them to become too attached to babies at this time. That is why children under 1 year old were not allowed to have their hair cut. Trimming a one-year-old baby symbolized his full-fledged 'infusion' into the family.
In addition, gender differences were established in one-year-old children. For example, girls were not cut short (cut off the strands on four sides). It was believed that a haircut would prevent women from meeting happiness.
And the boys were cut very short, after that they were put on a horse, they were allowed to hold a dagger or other weapon.
Superstitions about why children under 1 year old cannot be cut:
- There will be problems with speech. Shortening the hair of a child under one year old was associated with clipping the tongue. Superstitious people claim that a baby cut ahead of time will not be able to talk.
- Clipping will cause severe fright. Indeed, babies do not distinguish between hair, which has the ability to grow back, and other parts of the body. Little children perceive themselves as a whole. It is no coincidence that babies scream with tears during the haircut process. No one will like cutting off an arm or a leg – and this is how the baby perceives the procedure involving scissors. And even after a haircut, a child feels uncomfortable – just like an adult who has been cut shorter than he would like. Many peoples do not cut their babies until the age of three.
- Need will torment. Ancient people believed that cutting the nails and hair of a child under one year old attracted poverty to him. The strand was allowed to be cut off only during baptism.
- Health will deteriorate.
- The hair will be bad.
As for the last point, there was also the opposite opinion: the sooner the hair was cut off the child, the better they would be.
Another question: is it possible and necessary to cut a child's hair bald before a year, haunts the parents of boys. It is worth looking at the root of this tradition. If we discard the difficult period when the haircut of children 'to zero' was carried out for hygienic reasons (to facilitate the fight against head lice), the meaning of the ritual becomes clear – this is initiation into men.
The ceremony of cutting a child's hair at one year was invented to mark the transition from infancy to childhood. After all, at this time the baby begins to walk. So they cut off the hairs so that they do not 'pull' the baby down, do not get underfoot, do not interfere with taking the first steps.
To cut a child's hair at one year, there was a whole ritual of the first haircut in peasant families. It was performed on Maundy Thursday or on the anniversary of the child's life. The cutting took place in the presence of the midwife who took the birth and the godparents.
The child was seated in the middle of the room on a sheep's skin, and the scissors were given to the most honored guest or the eldest man in the family. Today, the right to cut the first symbolic strand is given to the godparents.
In ancient Slavic culture, forced shaving was a punishment for serious offenses.
The parents tried to protect the baby from the influence of dark forces, so the strands on the head were cut crosswise. The trimmed strands were tied with red thread and kept until the offspring came of age. This hair had magical powers.
When the time came for the guy to go to serve in the army, a lock of his hair was cut off and intertwined with children's hair. It turned out to be a powerful charm, which was sewn into the clothes of the conscript. It was believed that the amulet would help to avoid suffering, disease, death and injury.
In ancient Slavic culture, forced shaving was a punishment for serious offenses, since the complete absence of hair on the head was considered humiliating. Yes, and devices that allow you to safely shave your head did not exist in those days.
The tradition of naked boys' heads appeared during the time of the Cossacks. Since the 18th century, a shaved head has been an integral part of military discipline.
Later, when forced recruitment 'flourished', the expression 'shave' was synonymous with 'pick up the soldiers'. But even then there was no question: is it possible to cut the first hair of a child under one year old, and whether it is necessary to shave the baby. Children were cut much later than a year, already at a conscious age.
Why is the back of the head balding?
There is a Muslim tradition to cut a baby's hair on the seventh day of life. In addition to the religious background, there is also a practical explanation of the expediency of this ritual. In many children, the hair rolls out for up to a year, the back of the head becomes bald, and baldness forms in the neck area.
It is believed that this is a sign of rickets. But experienced people reassure parents of 'bald' babies: the nape is exposed because the baby spends a lot of time on his back, but at the same time, showing curiosity, turns his head in different directions. Delicate hairs roll down, remain on the pillow.
No need to worry. Instead of 'fluff', new strong hair will soon appear on the child's head. Thus, there is no need to cut a baby's hair for up to a year, if the hair does not interfere with him (does not provoke increased head sweating, does not climb into the eyes).
