Baptism is an Orthodox sacrament when a person, as it were, is reborn anew for a pure life with faith and God in his soul. The baptism of a child is a doubly touching and bright holiday, and everyone close and dear to the infant wants to take part in it. In this case, you should think about the christening of the child in advance and decide how you will conduct them.
Instruction manual
1
Go to the church where you plan to baptize the baby, and discuss with the priest all the details of the upcoming baptism: when is it better to spend, what to bring with you, how to get dressed. It is better if you do this one or two weeks before the holiday, in order to have time to prepare everything in advance.
2
Choose godparents for your baby. They can be relatives or friends with whom you have been friends for a long time, often see and communicate. After becoming godparents, they commit themselves to helping the child gain faith, to become kind, fair and honest. Please note that the godparents of one child cannot be a married couple, because in this case they become a spiritual brother and sister, and marriage between relatives is prohibited. Godparents must also go to church in advance to acquire the necessary attributes for baptism (a cross, a towel, an icon) and learn how to prepare for the sacrament.
3
As a rule, only close relatives and godparents of the child are invited to the rite to the church. Perhaps someone will want to photograph the moments of the christening - arrange this with the priest in advance. The rest of those who want to be with the baby on such a significant day can be invited home for a gala dinner.
4
Decorate the room where you will receive guests: put white, pink or blue balls under the ceiling (depending on the gender of your child), put angel figures on the bedside tables or cut them out of paper, hang the air curtain not only on the window, but also on the entrance into the room, securing it in several parts in the form of an arch. White roses and candles will be a great addition.
5
You can cook a festive dinner of your own free will, however, on fasting days it should be mainly lean dishes. According to the old tradition, sweet porridge is also put on the table, and all guests should eat a spoonful, as if wishing the baby not only grow healthy, but also be strong in spirit. Since christening is a religious holiday, give up alcohol or limit yourself to a light red wine. Order a cake in the shape of an angel in advance in the confectionery departments or buy candy in the shape of angels, which you can hand at the entrance to each guest. You can also give each guest a small postcard with words of gratitude that on this significant day they were next to your family.
6
If you want to play at the festive table, pick up fun games and fun that will allow guests to return to their childhood and delight them. You can divide all those present into two teams, the godfather can be the captain of the first, and the godmother the captain of the second. Prepare comic questions regarding the upbringing of the baby, or contests for the speed of swaddling and coloring pictures. Or maybe you will sing your favorite hits from childhood together in karaoke. In addition, you can arrange a comic win-win lottery: for a nominal price, sell lottery tickets, and during the raffle hand in nipples, sweets, small cars or dolls.
7
The most important thing is that on the day of christening, there should be no abuse and disputes in the house, so that everyone has joy and happiness in their hearts.
