In Hindu tradition, the ceremony traditionally introducing a newborn to honey and ghee is called jatakarma.
Jatakarma is one of the samskaras, or rites of passage, described in Hindu tradition. It is associated with welcoming a newborn and may include blessings, prayers, and a symbolic taste of honey and ghee. Traditional texts describe the father or another participant performing parts of the rite, although contemporary practice varies greatly by region, family, and religious community.
The ceremony expresses hopes for the child’s well-being and development. Historical ritual descriptions should not be treated as a universal instruction for modern infants: medical advice generally discourages giving honey to babies under one year because of the risk of infant botulism.
Jatakarma is distinct from namakarana, the naming ceremony, and annaprashana, the rite associated with a baby’s first solid food. Those ceremonies occur at different stages and have different purposes.