Please Don’t Spit on Your Baby!

Say What????

Living in a third world country means you will experience some very unusual moments. Sometimes they will make you cringe or laugh. But then there are times….you will just watch in shock and wish that you had NOT just seen that! It was a Saturday afternoon and like most Saturdays I went out visiting people, hoping to talk about Christ. During that time I met two ladies, a grandmother and her daughter. We began to talk and nothing seemed unusual…until I noticed their adorable baby. I remarked how cute the newborn was and immediately the mom  spat on her baby. I tried to hide my shock as she continued the conversation like nothing happened. The baby was very sweet so it wasn’t long before I complimented her again. This time grandma got in on the action and spat on the baby! By this time I felt like I was causing the problem and asked why in the world were they spitting on their baby!? As it turns out Filipinos believe that when someone compliments their baby a curse has been placed on the little one. It was almost like I “jinxed” the baby’s good luck and somehow spitting on the baby took away the curse….not sure how that works. After hearing this I told them, “Well, if that’s the case, please don’t spit on your baby! I promise I won’t do it again!” Yep…Just another day living in a third world country…