The sacrament of Baptism is one of the main ones in Christian churches. Protestant Christians usually come to baptism at a conscious age, but Catholics and Orthodox Christians baptize children in early infancy. Why is a child's christening necessary? Adherents of the Christian faith believe that through baptism a person receives salvation, the opportunity to become a full member of the Church. The Bible contains many references to the need for this Sacrament. It is customary to baptize infants on their 40th birthday, but this can be done earlier or later. The prototype of the Sacrament is the rite of circumcision of infants, adopted back in the days of the Old Testament.
Child christening. Scenario
During the celebration of christening, our ancestors performed this ritual according to a special scenario . Now some fragments of it have been preserved. Previously, only the closest relatives and friends of the family were invited to christenings, and among those who came to visit the baby there could be women who had a husband and children of their own. Nowadays, not only all relatives are invited to the christening celebration, but also close and distant friends and colleagues. According to the scenario of the Christening of a child, guests give various gifts, sweets, and bring ready-made dishes with them, since it is difficult for the hostess, who has suffered the rigors of childbirth, to do everything herself.
What you need to know about a child's christening?
The parents of the baby, his godparents and everyone who has gathered to celebrate the christening are interested in what you need to know about the christening of a child. First of all, everyone should know the main reason for which the celebration takes place. This occasion is the spiritual birth of the baby. The Sacrament of Baptism opens him up to the Church of Christ and the Kingdom of Heaven. The seed of eternal life is sown in the soul of a child. With proper care, it should grow and bear fruit. Proper care is the Christian upbringing of a child. You need to bring your child to church more often to participate in its holy Sacraments. As soon as possible after Baptism, you should try to give Holy Communion to a girl or boy. In the future, the fruits of the grace that is given to a child during the Sacrament of Baptism will be works of mercy, prayer for others, compassion, help, care, strong faith in God and hope in Him.
Boy's baptism
To understand how to baptize a boy child, you should know some of the features and nuances of performing the sacrament.
- For the baby, it is necessary to have a godfather, who will become a fairly responsible successor.
- Parents or godparents must purchase a special baptismal set for the child.
- The baptism of a boy has some ritual features (compared to the baptism of a girl). At the completion of the sacrament, the priest performs a symbolic churching of the baby. He takes the boy in his arms and carries him to the altar.
To be sure, you should discuss some points in advance with the parish priest about how to baptize a child. The boy should be prepared according to the father’s advice.
Child christening. Traditions
A couple of centuries ago, the celebration of christenings took place according to some traditions. According to the traditions of the christening of a child, special respect during this celebration was expressed to the midwife - she was called “grandmother”. The health of mother and baby depended on how she delivered the baby. Not every woman could be a midwife; she had to have a special gift given by God, and she had to be able to use her hands well. People have composed many sayings dedicated to midwives. For example: “God is with mercy, and the grandmother is with her hands,” “They drag around like a midwife.” The second saying says that this profession was especially popular and was in great demand. Previously, childbirth took place much more naturally, but now: women gave birth at home in the conditions familiar to them. This prevented the negative psychological aspects that are now often found in hospitals. The baby was immediately put to the breast. From this, the mother’s body began to naturally produce the hormone axitacin. In modern maternity hospitals, the child is immediately taken away from the mother and they want to give her the opportunity to rest. At the same time, the artificial hormone axitacin is infused into the woman’s blood through a dropper. The midwife's job was to help the woman during childbirth. To improve the physical condition of the mother, various herbal preparations were used. Modern medical institutions and maternity hospitals have their advantages and disadvantages compared to how they used to be. To be on the safe side, doctors often artificially induce labor. This complicates the labor process and serves as an additional psychological and physiological burden on mother and child. During labor and labor, artificial medications are used, which have a number of side effects. After giving birth, a child may be separated from his mother for some time - this is very difficult for him. For five or more days, a woman can stay in a room with other women in labor and their children. Different children have different sleep and wake times. The female body, weakened after childbirth, needs peace and rest, and this is very difficult to achieve in such conditions. The advantages of maternity hospitals include the fact that if a child is born very weak and needs strong therapy, then this help can be provided as soon as possible and thus save the baby’s life. The same can be applied to a woman in labor.
During the christening celebration, the birth of a child is also celebrated. This is usually the first meeting of many of his relatives and family friends with the baby. For christenings, traditional dishes for this holiday were prepared. They were called “grandma’s porridge”, “grandma’s pies”. Thus, according to the traditions of the child's christening, gratitude was expressed to the midwife.
Child christening. Rules
According to ancient customs, it was customary to bring money to christenings. According to the rules for the christening of a child, they were given to the mother of the born and baptized child. Some of the money could be given to the midwife. Grandma's porridge played the most important role at the festive feast. This porridge was prepared by the midwife, and she brought it with her to the christening. Different localities could have their own special local customs for celebrating christenings. According to the rules for the christening of a child at that time, at first, under the guise of grandma’s porridge in a pot, they could bring anything. It could be boiled potatoes, pumpkin. In some cases, a live cat was hidden in the pot. Then there was a auction for the porridge. Whoever gave more money to the young housewife had the right to break the treasured pot of porridge. Most often, this role fell to the baby’s godfather. Grandma's porridge was a symbol of procreation. If childless women were present at the feast, they tried to break the pot of porridge in such a way that a large number of fragments would fly in their direction. Nowadays, very often, instead of babka’s porridge, various sweets are placed in a clay pot. At the end of the feast, children and all guests are treated to these sweets.
Gifts for a child's christening
As a gift to a child at his christening, they bring various toys, clothes, as well as items useful for the child’s spiritual life. When choosing gifts for a child's christening, you need to pay attention to holy icon paintings, spiritual books, for example, an Orthodox prayer book, the Bible, lives of saints, and many other gifts. If a person does not know what to bring to a child’s christening, then he can simply take with him an envelope with a certain amount of money. The baby’s parents will buy themselves what the child needs at this moment.
Baptism of children 2-5 years old
If the sacrament is performed on a child aged 2 to 5 years, then you can expect an unpredictable reaction: tears and fear. Children who rarely go to Church are often frightened by the clergy. You should bring your child to the Temple in advance, attending services with him several times. This needs to be done to prevent childhood fear. In addition, three-year-old children may not want to wear a pectoral cross around their neck; you should not overpower the child. Alternatively, you can hang it above the baby's crib.
How to celebrate a child's christening
Each family makes its own choice about how to celebrate the child's christening . There are families who prepare a certain scenario, invite a toastmaster or host, and order traditional ancient dishes. And there are families who simply prepare a festive table. In any case, christenings should be filled with joy about a baby born and baptized in the Orthodox Church. The little man still seems completely fragile and defenseless, but he is already the crown of God’s creation, for the sake of which the Savior and Lord Jesus Christ Himself came to earth, suffered, was resurrected and ascended to heaven.
Is baptism possible without godparents?
Often people coming to an Orthodox Church ask the priests the following question: “How to baptize a child without godparents?” In order to answer this question, it is necessary to understand how young children are baptized. When performing the sacrament, only the recipient can give the vows of baptism, since the child himself is not yet able to consciously and responsibly understand the depth of Christianity and accept its teachings. Consequently, the baptism of a child without godparents cannot be performed. Young adults who consciously accept the Christian faith can begin the sacrament without a recipient.
Music for baby christening
The biggest events in our lives are usually accompanied musically. During the celebration of Epiphany, you can choose light, pleasant music for the child’s christening and play it as a background during the feast. There are parents who try to find special songs dedicated to christenings or just the baby and include them in some moments of the celebration. The day of a child's christening should remain in the memory of parents, godparents and all guests as a unique event in their lives. Congratulations on the Baptism of a child should be heard throughout the celebration.
Baptism in other Christian denominations
The entire Christian world recognizes and performs baptism, however, the symbolism and theology of the sacrament is interpreted individually by each denomination. There are differences in views on age restrictions. For example, receiving the sacrament in infancy is only permissible in Orthodoxy, Catholicism, and also in some Protestant branches (Anglicanism, Lutheranism, Methodism). Denominations such as Baptistism, Pentecostalism and evangelicalism are opposed to baptism in infancy.
The question related to how to baptize a child is interpreted by each Christian denomination from the point of view of individual ritualism. However, the purpose, purpose and meaning of the sacrament are identical in all faiths.
How to dress for a child's christening?
When a woman goes to church to participate in the Sacrament of Baptism of a child, she should know how to dress for the christening of a child: with her head covered, in a skirt or dress, preferably below the knee. Men, on the contrary, should be bareheaded. The baby is dressed in a baptismal set, or they can first dress him in ordinary clothes, and take the baptismal set with him to baptism, so that after immersion in the holy font, he can put it on the baby. How to dress a child for christening to celebrate this event at home, parents decide for themselves, although very often the baby remains in a festive white outfit. Everything you need for a child’s christening should be prepared in advance so that there is no additional fuss during the celebration itself.
Signs for a child's christening
Among the people there are many signs for the christening of a child. A believer should not attach special significance to these signs. The most important thing is to believe in the saving truths set forth in the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. The Lord gave us His commandments that we must fulfill. These commandments must be known by heart. A person who pays attention to various signs, superstitions and folk beliefs may fall into paganism. Thus, he betrays his Creator and Lord. By refusing to believe in omens, a person retains his loyalty to the Savior.
How to organize a child's christening?
If in the city where you live there is a person who can provide you with qualified assistance in organizing a christening, you can use his services. The main thing is that this person is an Orthodox Christian and practices his faith through good deeds. It is important that a person does not believe in any signs at the child’s christening. You can prepare the ceremony of christening a child yourself. It is enough to set a good table, invite guests and welcome them warmly. It is impossible to know everything about the christening of a child, so you need to try to ensure that you have a moderate sense of responsibility when preparing for this celebration.
Conversion to Islam or baptism?
Russia is a multinational country with a large percentage of people professing Islam. Often, many unenlightened people ask the question: “How do Muslims baptize children?”
The fact is that “baptism” is a primordially Christian concept associated with the history of the emergence and development of the Christian religion. Baptism was known to the Jews in the Old Testament. From the Gospel stories we know that the Prophet - John the Forerunner - baptized the Jews who came to him in the Jordan River. In this symbolic way, he “washed away” from people’s souls their sins and atrocities that weighed on their conscience. The Savior Jesus Christ, becoming like ordinary people, showed humility and also accepted Baptism from John, establishing this sacrament forever by his own example. This is the story of baptism.
It is known that Muslims recognize Christ as one of the prophets, but do not confess Him as God. Consequently, in Islam there is no concept of “baptism”, but there is a rite of acceptance of Islam. It consists of confessing Allah as the one and true God, recognizing the Prophet Mohammed (Muhammad) as his messenger and pronouncing specific testimonies (shahadah) that should be pronounced in the mosque. This event must take place with the participation of witnesses.
In Islam there is an age of discernment, that is, the period from six years to adulthood. It happens that a child born into a family of people professing a different religion independently chooses faith in Allah. If a child confirms the confession of Allah by saying the Shahada, he is considered a Muslim.
What to buy for a child's christening?
Now we have a very large selection of what to buy for a child’s christening. If you are going to the christening of a girl child, then you can buy her a christening set for a girl , clothes for growing up, hats, a doll or other toys. A good christening gift for both girls and boys would be silver rattles , children's silverware, silver spoons , silver mugs and other silver items that will benefit the child's health and will remain in the house for a long time.
Author of the article: theologian and religious scholar Ksenia Orabei
