To convey the joy and enthusiasm for the birth of a child is a tradition to hang a pink or blue bow out the door. It is a habit in which almost none surrender, so much so that many hang the bow also on the front door or on the door of the hospital room where the happy event happened, but what is its meaning? The bow birth has always been a symbol that serves to express the happiness that accompanies the arrival of a new life in family. It is a tradition that comes from far away, namely the Orient and its origins are often connected to reasons that have to do with superstition. In past centuries, indeed, the bow was a sort of amulet to protect newborns. In particular for little boys who were considered more important and therefore more worthy to receive protection. The color blue was used (such as the color of the sky) to invoke the forces of good and establish a contact with the divinities. The color chosen for the girls was pink. The same shape bow has a very important symbolic value: the interweaving of two distinct parts which then come together represented, ancient saying, the strong link between two different entities for the formation of a single being, namely a new life. In many regions of Italy, the custom is to expose the bow on the door of the hospital room at the birth of the child and, when Mom and the baby were discharged, on the doorstep. Also in England is a very emotive tradition which is called “welcome baby”. The bow announces the birth of a child to whom the community welcomes.
