January Birth Bread
Birth Bread
Baguette
Baguette is a traditional bread known worldwide as a symbol of France. Registered as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2022, it's described as '250 grams of magic and perfect daily life,' deeply rooted in French life. Its pure flavor emerges from extremely simple ingredients - flour, water, salt, and yeast - with its true worth determined by the baker's skill. The hard exterior crust symbolizes winter's harsh cold, while the soft interior crumb represents family warmth. In France, there's a tradition where children's first household chore is going to the bakery to buy baguettes, and it continues to be beloved across generations. Befitting the New Year's beginning, it remains faithful to basics while possessing the capacity to harmonize with any ingredient, finding deep meaning in sharing at the family table. Its tradition is preserved through legal standards of 80 centimeters in length and 300 grams in weight.
Features
- Simple ingredient composition using only flour, water, salt, and yeast
- Characteristic contrast between hard exterior crust and soft interior crumb
- Legally defined specifications of 80 centimeters in length and 300 grams in weight
- National bread with over 6 billion loaves consumed annually in France
- Cultural value recognized through UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage registration in 2022
Personality
- Dignified presence combining a stern exterior with a warm interior
- Faithful to basics while possessing inclusiveness that harmonizes with any ingredient
- Humble and sincere character hiding deep philosophy within simplicity
- Values being carefully crafted over time, cherishing tradition
- Takes joy in connecting family meals and finds value in sharing
Symbolic Meaning
- Inheritance of tradition and return to basics, importance of essential values
- Warmth and affection hidden beneath stern appearances
- Richness and depth born from simple elements
- Family bonds and community unity, joy of sharing
- Craftsman's skill and traditional wisdom, value of handwork
Reason for Selection
- Representative of the most basic and traditional bread befitting the sacred beginning of the New Year
- Exterior hardness expresses winter's harsh cold, interior softness represents family warmth
- Like New Year gatherings where meals are shared, there's meaning in dividing and eating together
- Symbolizes New Year resolutions to return to basics and hearts that cherish tradition
- Purity born from simple ingredients overlaps with the fresh feelings of the New Year
Protection & Effects
- Grants power to return to basics and insight to discern essentials
- Provides a heart that cherishes tradition and ability to inherit ancestral wisdom
- Nurtures power to deepen family bonds and strengthen community unity
- Gives a heart that finds richness in simplicity and satisfaction in modest living
- Bestows respect for careful handwork and patience to nurture things over time
Trials & Growth
- Challenge to overcome stubbornness and inflexibility while developing adaptability
- Difficulty of being simple and the challenge of mastering basics
- Adapting to change while preserving tradition and responding to the times
- Developing ability to understand and appreciate inner value without being misled by appearances
- Necessity for continuous effort and training to master craftsman skills