Every good parent wants to ensure they lead their baby down the right path to grow into the best human being possible when their child is born. Plans begin to form and ideas are shared. Parents begin to ask themselves whether or not they should buy a home, what school they should put their child in and of course what they will name him.
Perhaps one of the most important questions though is whether or not the child is going to be christened. Christening a child will change his life, as they will then be devoted to their religion until the day they re-join god in heaven.
But before making the choice to christen a child, there are a few things that parents should know about the process that just might make things a whole lot easier.
- There is no difference between baptism and christening.
It may sound silly, but often, parents end up heavily confused when going through the process as to what the difference between the two is. This can lead to them believing they aren’t doing the right thing when people all use different terminologies while planning.
- What exactly is a christening?
A christening is when a child becomes a member of the Christian church, although it can technically happen at any age. Holy water is used to bathe the child and wash away any impurities/sins that may be clinging to their soul and allow them to be born again to God.
- How does it work?
When a child is christened, they are taken by the priest to be bathed in holy water. When the water is poured over their head, it symbolises the cleansing and purity of the soul. Then, the baby is signed with a cross and olive oil is rubbed onto the baby’s chest as a symbol of strength and guidance.
After this, the child is rubbed on the forehead with oil of chrism as a symbol of sealing with gifts of the spirit. Next, Hymns are sung to the child and prayers are offered to it as well as the child’s family. Both godparents are then brought forwards to make their promises to the child to always be there for guidance.
After this process is complete, the child is then considered a Christian always and will be considered a member of the Christian church.
- What the baby wears
Originally, prior to the mid 1700s, babies were wrapped tightly in swaddling clothing and then wrapped up tightly in a large square of silk that had gold braiding, called a bearing cloth. After the mid 1700s, parents began to dress their children in extremely long robes that flowed freely and other clothing items such as booties and mittens.
These days, however, parents generally elect to dress their children in Christening rompers. Boys christening rompers are exceedingly different to those for girls. Boys christening rompers are generally similar to a onesie and are completely white and relatively plain. A girl’s one is generally similar to a kind of dress. On top of this, baby boy christening outfits Sydney will generally include a sort of hat like a bonnet.
The reason this is important is because the symbolism of a christening is quite intricate and is best kept to. Whatever the child’s sex; the clothing will always be the same colour: white.
- The celebration is just as important as the Christening itself
After a christening, it is tradition to celebrate and surround the baby with loved ones such as close family and relatives as well as friends. There are many reasons for this, but the simplest is that it is a perfect opportunity to properly introduce the baby to his or her family and have everyone familiar with him/her.
Another reason for this is to begin the baby’s new life surrounded by the people that will always be there for him/her and love them no matter where their life leads them.
It is a smart idea to plan ahead for this and choose the colour theme, catering, etc. wisely. A good tip is to host it on a Saturday or Sunday in order to make sure that everyone may attend and maybe even bring a dish to contribute! Also, a place to keep the gifts is a good idea, because there will be lots of them!
After all is said and done, christening a baby is one of the best things that can be done to lead him or her down the right path for the rest of his/her life. Making sure that the traditions of the ceremony are upheld are extremely important, however the best thing to remember is to not feel too much pressure for the day.
The day that a baby is christened is a day to feel the love and support of all the people that will help guide him or her for the rest of their life and should be enjoyed as one of the best days of the parents’ lives.
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