One of the most important moments in a parent's life is the celebration of their child's birth. However, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, even' close relatives aren't able to join the celebration in person: New parents in Japan have found a way to solve this problem. They are sharing the joys of welcoming a new family member with bags of rice.
These rice bags are not ordinary ones, however. Each of them is in the shape of a baby wrapped (包裹) in a blanket. This“"baby" weighs the same as the newborn at birth. There is a photo of the baby, on the front of each bag. The bags can alw relatives to imagine the feeling of holding the real' baby in their arms.
In fact, the practice of sending rice baby bags is not a new one. Naruo Ono, the owner ofa rice shop in Japan, got the idea in 2007. He was a new parent at the time. Some of his relatives lived too far away to come and see his newborn son. He then decided to send them bags of nice that looked like the baby.
The idea was not a big success then, but COVID-19 has given it another chance Ono has started receiving orders from across Japan since the pandemic began. The bags have created a new problem, though: People haven't been able to decide what to do with their lovely “rice babies" once the moment is over.
