Sebou’

Sebou’ is celebrated for the birth of a new baby by Moslems and Copts alike in Alexandria. It is held a week after the baby is born (sebou' coming from the word sab'a, Arabic for seven, a mystical number), and usually falls on the Thursday following the delivery, the night before the Moslem holy day and the beginning of the Arab weekend. By then it is expected that both mother and child will be fit enough for the celebration, the mother from what more often than not used to be a natural delivery and the baby from circumcision if it were a boy. However, if the rite of the seventh day cannot be kept for any reason, another will be chosen, but an odd number will always be observed. Candles are lit and small, prettily wrapped packages (called, like their wedding counterparts, bonbonnieres) are distributed, containing chickpeas, peanuts, sugarcoated almonds and a piece of chocolate. Paper money, according to the means of the family, may also be included, on which are written rhymed phrases of welcome for the newborn, such as: “I have arrived, and filled the house with light.” A drink called “moghat” is offered, which is fried powdered fenugreek with ghee (clarified butter) and sugar, and a sprinkling of sesame. Very rich in calories and nutrients, it is supposed to help the young mother with her lactation, since fenugreek is also highly lactiferous. But all the guests as well are offered the drink, usually served in cups.

Other rituals carried out in the sebou’ are mainly food related. The newborn is rocked in a sieve (symbolizing flour and its association with bounty and abundance) to suggest survival and safety from the perils of life, to the rhythm of a pestle pounding the mortar (usually pounded close to baby's ears to make sure he develops immunity to noise and fear), while salt is sprinkled throughout the house to ward off the evil eye.

This is an occasion in which folklore is more important than class. In fact, the upwardly mobile like to retain a touch of folklore as a concession to tradition and a sign of authenticity and originality.