B
BABIES, NAMING
In Japan a curious custom is in vogue with respect to the naming of babies. The new-born is taken to the temple, when it has attained the age of two weeks, and to the priest who receives him the father of the little one suggests three names deemed to be appropriate. The priest writes these three names on slips of paper. He holds these slips of paper for a few minutes, and then throws them over his shoulder, sending them as high in the air as possible. The slip that reaches the ground last contains the name that is conferred on the waiting baby.
The next step in the process is for the priest to copy the name on a piece of silk or fine paper, which is handed to the proud parent, with these words:
“So shall the child be named.”—Harper’s Weekly.
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Baby, Captivated by a—See [Child, Saved by a].
Baby’s Thinking—See [Thinking, How Coordinated].
BACKBONE
Any good quality needs backbone to make it effective. The little boy who read aloud, “Now Daniel had an excellent spine in him,” when the letters spelled “spirit,” was not so far from the truth after all. All of God’s servants need spine.—James M. Stifler, “The Fighting Saint.”