Significance Of Christening

• Christening is a means of establishing a covenant between the family and the local faith community to provide a safe environment of care and nurturing for the child as she grows up. Christening affirms the Christian name of the newborn. Since the infants are provided with a legal name shortly after birth, the symbolism of a Christian name helps to affirm the recognition of the faith community of that name.
  
  

What Happens During a Christening Ceremony?

• Christening ceremonies may vary slightly, depending on the denomination, but generally the child is dressed in a white christening outfit to symbolize purity and cleansing. The child's parents publicly proclaim to raise the child in the Christian faith after which the child is baptized with holy water by sprinkling, dipping or full submergence, depending on the denomination, to wash away symbolically the original sins. The parents are then given a lit candle that represents Jesus Christ as the light of the world and finally the child may be named, depending on the denomination. One or many children can be baptized during the same ceremony
  
  

Godparents in a Christening Ceremony

• Godparents are additional Christian mentors to the child. There major role is to guide the child spiritually. Traditionally, they were chosen for their own strong religious beliefs to guide the growing child in its faith. But today, they are chosen because they are close friends to family.
  
  

After the Christening Ceremony

• Family and friends gather to celebrate with a meal, brunch, lunch or dinner, depending on the time of day that the christening ends. This celebration will include gifts exchange, cake-cutting and sometimes dedicating a plant or tree to the child to "grow" with the child. This post-christening celebration also gives the family and friends the opportunity to take photos of the child.
  
  

Christenings Ceremony Gifts

• Christening gifts should either help to memorialize the celebration or symbolize Christianity. The gifts should be personalized or engraved with the child's name, the date of the ceremony and a message of blessing. Religious gift such as crosses, jewelry, christening plates, mugs, photo albums, scrapbooks and even first Bibles are gifts for the occasion.