Baptism guide for godparents and parents

Baptism is the first and one of the most important ceremonies in a baby's life. It is recommended that a newborn be baptized after reaching 40 days. Baptism is a ceremony with a great emotional charge and represents the child's first contact with the Christian world. The traditional meaning of baptism is that of cleansing the ancestral sin committed by Adam and Eve. Through baptism, the child is forgiven of this sin, it is opened to him a gateway to the Church and receives the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Stages of baptism

The baptism service includes 3 stages:

1. In the first part of the service, the little one is cleansed of evil spirits, which are driven away through a series of prayers, in the church porch;
2. The second part of the baptism, the proper service, is officiated together with the blessing service and includes prayers, immersing the child in water, anointing him with Holy Myrrh, washing and symbolic cutting of the baby's hair;
3. After the completion of the baptism service, communion with the Holy Eucharist takes place.

Baptism customs (for godfathers and parents)

There are some customs and traditions that both parents and godparents must know in order to carry out the preparations before the baptism.

Parents must have the following prepared: 

• A complete row of clothes for the baby - in which he will be dressed before baptism (when leaving home) bought by them or received from the baby's midwife

· Scissors and a box - for the moment when the priest will cut the baby's hair, to preserve the memory of the baptism.

· The child's birth certificate. 

At Anne Bebe you will find the right clothes for: 

The duties of the noses are the following:

• to buy the child a complete set of clothes with which to dress the baby after birth. At the same time, tradition says that the priest must receive from the baby's kit a towel and a soap to use before bathing the child. The kit must contain:

• White cloth (rolled, unstitched) - in which they will receive the baby after baptism;
• Ribbon;
• White towel and soap - for the priest, to wash his hands before baptizing the child;
• A bottle for myrrh;
• A row of clothes and accessories for the baby's christening outfit.

Nasi also prepares:

• Baptism candle;
• Pled or Paturica to be placed on the table in the church;
• A bottle of wine for communion;
• Olive oil for the bottle of myrrh;
• Candies to serve to church guests;
• Crucifixes or other baptismal certificates that the godmother will give to the guests at the church;
• Money for the Church Tax;
• An icon that the priest will sanctify and that the godparents will give to the baby;
• A pair of earrings if it's a girl or a chain if it's a boy.

Anne Bebe comes to help the parents with the necessary outfits for the little girl and the kit for the church.

Trusou Church

• Church Suit (cloth, sash, towel, soap, bottle of myrrh) ... from 130 lei
• Candle... from 200 lei
• Testimonials ... from 5 lei/pc
• Chest ... from 190 lei
• Tansport boxes ... from 5 lei
• Cotton pleat from ... 80 lei

*** Personalization of the Baptism Suits can be done on the towel, blanket and front, write everything the godparents/parents want (name, first name, date of baptism) starting with 30 lei/object.

Baptism ceremony - Church

Godparents are the child's spiritual parents. They confess, renounce the ancestral sin, the bad things and worship Jesus, baptizing the child. If it is a girl, then it will be baptized by the godmother, and if it is a boy, by the godmother.

At the beginning of the service, the godparents are the ones who answer the priest when he asks "Do you renounce Satan?", "I renounce!" / "Have you united with Christ?", "I have united with Christ!" These questions and answers will be said 3 times, and the godparents will actually answer instead of the child.

Another moment in which the spiritual parents are directly involved is the reading/recitation of the CREED. The nasa will undress the child, when the priest tells her and will give it to him to be baptized. She will also receive the baptized baby in myrrh cloth, holding the child with her right hand. A few prayers will be read, during which the nanny will hold the child in her arms, and the nanny will hold the candle.

After the baptism, the baby will be wrapped and placed on the specially arranged table, without being dressed. The priest will then come to anoint him with Holy Myrrh and cut a small lock of the child's hair.

After the anointing with Holy Myrrh, the godmother can start dressing the little one, because the baby is going to be shared. *According to tradition, the child should not be changed or kissed until the day after baptism.

Fates

At the party, in addition to parents, godparents and friends, the baby will be accompanied by teddy bears. After birth, in popular tradition, each child receives its destiny from the teddy bear. They are magical beings, sisters with the eels that no one has seen and too few have heard of. One thing is certain - what they decide always comes true.
The number of bears present differs depending on the regions of the country. For example, in Moldova, some people say there are three bears, others seven, others nine or twelve; in Transylvania there are three, seven, nine or eleven bears, haters, or ursators. Those from Oltenia believe that there are three bears or fairies, all women, one small, one medium and one large. 

The house of the next day 

Tradition says that when the child arrives home after Baptism, the newborn is placed on the threshold of the house, and the godmother says to the mother before she takes him from the floor: "You gave him to me as a pagan, I brought him to you as a Christian" and put out the candle in the door frame.

On the second day after the baptism, it is customary for the godparents to go and bathe the new Christian. It is a ritual bath, "washing away the myrrh", in which, traditionally, only women participate: the mother, midwife, godmother and other members of the baby's family.
The godparents will bring another row of clothes to the baby and a small gift that will remain a memory of that day.

Tradition says that in the bathtub, the baby must be bathed with the following things:

• Flowers - for the baby to be beautiful;
• Money and gold jewelry (sterilized) – to be rich;
• Holy water - to be clean;
• Stones - to be strong and resistant;
• Wheat - to have an enriched meal;
• Basil and scented oils - to smell nice;
• Egg - be healthy (the egg must remain whole in the tub);
• Honey - be sweet;
• Milk - to be fresh;
• Salt - it should be pleasant like salt in dishes;
• A flake - be light as a flake.

*** Books are placed under the bathtub so that the child is "studious".

*** The water from the next day's bath with everything in it is taken somewhere outside and placed at the root of a single tree or a single plant, to be a place as clean as possible and as secluded as possible.

***The godmother must anoint the baby with myrrh from the church and sing it with a sprig of basil, as follows: on the head (to be intelligent), to the eyes (to see only beautiful things), to the ears (to hear only teachings good and to listen to them), to the mouth (to speak only wise words), to the hands (to be diligent), to the chest (to have a loving heart) and to the feet (to take him wherever he wants and to always bring him home, to loved ones).
***Parents must give the godmother a towel and soap - with which the godmother will wash and wipe herself after the bath.

*** At the end of the bath, a stick of holy myrrh is smeared behind the ears, under the arms and on the legs - so that it smells nice.

Anne Bebe will recommend:

Christening gifts 

Choosing a christening gift can be difficult, some gifts being inspired, others less so, because either you don't have the necessary experience or you don't know what a newborn would lack.

There is a wide range of christening gifts, from symbolic gifts such as a card, to souvenir gifts such as a souvenir or a framed photo.

Besides these options, there is the whole range of practical objects that a baby needs, from clothes to jewelry or religious objects such as icons or crucifixes. 

Anne Bebe offers you the following suggestions for a christening gift: 

Silver Gifts

• Iconita ... from 55 lei
• Photo album + frame ...from 70 lei
• Photo frames ... from 35 lei
• Cutlery set...from 75 lei

Miscellaneous Gifts

• Rattle toy...from 30 lei
• Thermal toys (therapeutic effect through heat and smell)...from 75 lei
• Photo frames with fingerprint ...from 35 lei
• Birth certificate support ... from 90 lei 

Cutting the motto or breaking the cake

When the child turns one year old, the godparents have a new mission: to cut his hair if it's a boy or if it's a girl to break his cake and cut a strand. It is customary that at such an event the child is dressed by the grandparents, in clothes offered as a gift by them. On this occasion, a tray with various symbolic objects is placed in front of the child: pen, flowers, money, cosmetics, jewelry, books, etc. Before moving on to breaking the cake or cutting the motto, the child is left to choose some of the objects placed by the parents on the tray.

Depending on the objects he chose, the godparents will be able to interpret what exactly the child will be attracted to when he grows up. It is said that the first three things chosen show what concerns the child will have in the future. These represent the job he will practice (scissors-hairdresser, tailor or any other job in which that object will be used, notebook/book-teacher, etc.) or his strengths (money-he will be rich, perfume-he will be distinguished ).

After choosing two or three objects from the tray, the nose will cut a few strands from the child's hair, in the shape of a cross. Cutting hair means removing fear. After this ceremony, the child will be brave and free of any fears. In order not to get sick, it is said that the little one must be blindfolded so that he does not see when his hair is cut. A coin is attached to the end of the bow with which it is tied to the eye for good luck. With a pair of scissors, the nose cuts the mole and asks: "Why is your mole, little one?" to which the girls answer: "Good luck and health and a sheep with milk".

The bow will be tied with a blue ribbon if it's a boy or with a red one if it's a girl, and at the end of the bow a penny is tied onto which the wax from the baptism candle drips. The cut strand of hair is kept in a special holder and must not be shown to the child before the age of seven. According to tradition, the child should not be cut before cutting the motto.

Then, in the case of the little girl, the godmother skillfully takes the cake and breaks it into four equal pieces, broken in the direction of the cross just above the little girl's head, giving her various wishes specific to the area they come from. Then the cake is distributed to all the guests, including the little one, who has to taste it. It is said that it is good to light the baptismal candle during the breaking of the cake, so that the soul is protected throughout its life. The cake must be brought by the grandparents, it can be prepared by them in their own kitchen or purchased. The child's parents must buy a symbolic gift for the godparents, and the guests to the baby's party will also bring gifts for the little one.

This moment is a special one, which creates a soul connection between nasi and fin, a connection that must be preserved over the years. It is important for the godparents to always remember that they are the child's spiritual parents, that they have the duty to be with him and to offer him love and a lot of support.

Godparents meet with their loved ones every time they feel the need for each other's company, in addition to birthdays, Christmas, Easter and other holidays that require this. With each meeting, the godparents buy gifts for the children (clothes, toys, jewelry or small attentions). Another responsibility they have, along with the parents, is sharing the little one as often as possible.

For this event, Anne Bebe offers you: