Could there be a godmother. Christening of a girl: rules and ritual, folk signs
Any church sacraments in the minds of the people are associated with far-fetched and empty ancient reflections, superstitions and prejudices that have no connection. The word "superstition" is formed by two parts: " fuss» - « in vain" And " faith", which means " vain belief», « vain faith”, i.e. empty. It is extremely unreasonable to live by superstitions alone and attach great importance to them, especially in the performance of church sacraments. One of them is baptism - the beginning of the path immortal soul to eternal life, to God.
Why can't the first girl be baptized?
Various superstitions have come down to us that relate to the choice of a godmother (bozhatka). For example, it is believed that pregnant women should not be baptized, otherwise their child may die before being born, or not live long after birth.
Many have heard such a superstition that for a girl they did not call unmarried girls and women as godparents. unmarried? The people have several answers to this question:
- Unmarried women can "give" their goddaughter their happiness.
- So that the “crown of celibacy” did not go to the goddaughter, only married people were chosen as godparents.
In addition, due to the fact that the goddaughter "takes over" the fate of her godmother, only women who were happily married and satisfied with their fate were taken as godmothers.
Church opinion
Civilized, and even more so, believing people should not believe in prejudice. For a child, it does not matter what social position his godmother occupies. It is important that the recipient lives according to God's laws and passes on her spiritual knowledge.
English superstition
Similar superstitions about baptism exist not only in our country. The British, living in the north and west of the country, try not to baptize the girl before the boy. Why you can not baptize the first girl in England?
According to medieval belief, witches flying around a girl can take vegetation from a boy's face: a man's lack of facial hair - a mustache and beard - is a satanic sign, and the man himself is Satan's assistant.
The rite of baptism
The ritual of baptism existed long before the advent of Christianity, which borrowed it from ancient pagan beliefs. Baptism in ancient times "introduced" the newborn into the community, which protected its new member from enemies, evil forces and evil spirits. Basically, baptism took place immediately after birth: the midwife "sold" the child to future godparents, who carried him to church in order to "create a man." According to scientists, the rite of baptism in paganism has a ritual meaning. According to him, the midwife is a pagan principle, nature, which “sculpts” the body, creates a form, and the godparents are Christian, they give a name to the newborn and introduce him to the spiritual sphere. By the joint efforts of godparents and midwives new person through the rite of baptism enters the community, society.
That is why baptism is considered the main rite of the beginning of life, as a result of which the child receives one more, spiritual, parents (grandparents) - godmother and godfather (for biological - godfather), who are responsible for the spiritual upbringing and piety of the godson before God. In addition, in Everyday life godparents act as protectors and wise advisers.
The meaning of the sacrament
As a result of baptism, the child is washed away from his original sin, and he appears clean before God. In addition, baptism allows a person in the future to become a godparent to another child, get married, take part in other church sacraments, and others to pray for him.
Kumovya
We can say that the choice of godparents is a crucial moment in preparation for christening. The choice of godparents for baptism was based on good relationships between godfathers and parents. They tried to choose baptized people as godparents, kind, unglazed, with light hand who have everything going well in life. To take a child out of the font on a light hand was considered to give him a long and happy life. An important point in the choice of godparents is the absence of marriage between them, both during christening and after them.
For baptism, it is enough to invite one of the godparents: a godfather for a boy, a godmother for a girl. Catholics do this, but in Orthodoxy, according to the Russian tradition, both are invited for the child.
What do godparents give?
For christening, the godfather gives a cross, and the godmother gives a baptismal shirt, a scarf and a kryzhma, on which she takes the child from the holy font.
According to the first ancient rites, the godfather paid for the christening, presented the midwife with money (“ransomed” the baby) and gave the mother of the child a chintz handkerchief.
When making a choice - to be a godmother or not, do not be guided by signs and superstitions. Don't think about the question Why you can not baptize the first girl ? Becoming a godmother is a sacred, honorable and responsible role. The Church does not recognize or confirm any existing superstition and stands firmly in their way. According to church canons, the godmother not only cannot lose anything, but on the contrary, she acquires positive energy by participating in a good deed. The role of a goddaughter is especially important for an unmarried woman. After all, only by becoming a godmother, one can understand one's responsibility for the purity of the goddaughter's soul before God. A good godmother will take part in the upbringing of her godchildren, will become an adviser and support in life.
When deciding to become a godmother to a girl, remember that baptism is a good deed, and the role of a godmother is honorable, and God's grace will descend on your life.
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There are many signs and superstitions associated with the institution of godparents. Becoming godparents, it is necessary to take care of the child, if possible, try to take part in his upbringing, but no godparents can ever do without gifts. Why is there a sign that a girl cannot be baptized first. For men, such superstitions have no power and power, but more emotional women tend to take signs on faith and follow them. folk wisdom. Old signs and superstitions are intertwined here, that it is impossible not only to baptize the first girl, but also whether it is possible for nursing ones to drink milk, why it is impossible to sit on the table, why it is impossible to give certain things. The roots of these superstitions go back to hoary antiquity, but you can try to figure out what is terrible about the prohibition to baptize the first girl.
According to some beliefs, it is impossible to baptize if the future godmother is not married and has not yet given birth. It was believed that the goddaughter would take away future happiness from the godmother and she would not marry. There is also a belief that a girl can take over the fate of her godmother in the future. Therefore, those who are happily married should be chosen for this honorary role.
The next superstition says that if the first godson is a boy, then such a girl’s own fate will turn out happily in the future. Such friends who refuse to be godparents can seriously offend young parents, who may believe in omens, but the happiness of the child is more important to them.
An interesting belief from England can be read on the Internet. It turns out that in North and West England, this problem arose for a completely different reason. According to medieval English superstition, a girl cannot be baptized first because the witches flying around will give her the ability to take all the vegetation from the second baby - a boy, and he will be without a mustache and beard for the rest of his life, which in those days was considered a sign of Satan's assistant.
To believe in such signs or not, the parents decide. It is extremely shameful to refuse such an honorable mission as becoming a godmother to a child. After all, baptism is a sacred rite, and bad omens and superstitions are invented to justify one's own mistakes and failures. Orthodox Church never confirmed such superstitions, and not a single church minister will refuse to baptize a girl first, because it is the church that stands in the way of such signs. Therefore, you should not give up such an honorable right as becoming a godmother for fear of losing something in life. Baptism gives such positive energy that nothing bad can happen.
Do you believe in omens????
Each church rite has its own postulates and rules that must be followed, and any deviation from which threatens a person with misfortunes in life.
So, when entering a church, a woman needs to put on a scarf, speaking in such a way that she completely surrenders herself to the power of God, covers her head in front of him.
During baptism, the baby must scream in order to later become a real Christian.
If this did not happen, it means that “the impure one slumbers” in it. It is not recommended for young girls and girls to baptize a girl child for the first time, as she, allegedly, will take away her female happiness.
Of course, some church signs can be classified as superstition, which in translation means “non-existent beliefs” or “vain, vain faith.”
It is common for people to doubt, to rejoice in a responsible matter and to attach importance to the little things, especially if they occur during the sacred rites and sacraments of communion with the Lord, one of which is baptism.
According to Orthodox custom, people, having been baptized, acquire for themselves the right to eternal life with God blessing. They closely follow how this ceremony goes, what happens to those who conduct the ceremony, how they behave God-parents, the godchildren themselves, whether the child cries while dipping him into the font, etc.
A person programs himself according to the principle: "If - then". For example, if it rains, then the life of the godson will be all in tears, not thinking that "nature has no bad weather."
You can not baptize the first girl, if this happens, the godmother will never marry. Therefore, her choice is especially scrupulous: she must have a husband and children. Women in old age, as a rule, are not invited to the role of godmother. Pregnant women are also not supposed to be baptized, since, according to superstition, a child in the womb may not live even a year after birth.
What happens if you violate the signs?
- Despite the fact that the question of why a girl should not be baptized still does not find confirmation among real life stories, people try to follow their ideas and beliefs, fearing the "punishment of the Lord." According to legend, an unmarried girl symbolically puts on a crown of celibacy and gives her happiness to the one she leads to be baptized.
- It is also bad for a girl who is being baptized when the godmother is too young: the child, as it were, copies life path their godmother, and previously only those women who were married, unmarried - that means green, immature and still without fate were considered happy.
- It is not known for certain what will happen to a person who has violated church superstition, but if you believe that bad things will definitely happen, then so be it, because with our thoughts we form our own reality.
- The Church supports those who sincerely believe in the rite of baptism, who take communion and can open their souls to the Lord in prayer. The priests believe that the godmother should be of the same faith as the goddaughter in order to teach the child the spiritual knowledge that she herself owns.
- Baptism, from a Christian position, should protect the flock from the unclean. So that no one except our Father knows the name of the “new man”, in the church the godchild is given his own spiritual name, which will become a kind of amulet against evil forces, and the “new parents” will guide the true path and be responsible for upbringing and pious behavior before face of the Lord.
- And in simpler terms, the godmother should share her life experience with her goddaughter, so it’s better if she is a little older than the age of majority.
- Even if you are not married, you cannot refuse “the cross”, it is a great happiness when the parents of a child entrust such difficult duties to you, the role of a sponsor has always been held in high esteem, it is believed that God’s grace descends on the whole life of those who bear the “cross » others.
For the parents of a child who decide to perform the sacrament of baptism of a baby, perhaps the main task is to choose an attorney for mom and dad. Until the very day of the ceremony, the girl often raises the question of whether she should be a married woman or not.
Traditionally, it is believed that the godmother should be chosen from singles. There is a belief: if the godmother is not married, then after performing the ceremony she will meet her long-awaited love. But if a girl, unfortunately, cannot get pregnant for a long time and suddenly acquires the status of a godmother, then soon she herself will definitely be able to enjoy motherhood.
If the godfather leads the worldly life of the child, then the godmother is called upon to lead his spiritual path: it was she who brought the baby to the temple, she also brings him up in faith and purity.
Difficult choice
To choose a girl for the role of a godmother, you can turn to an ordained or simply experienced priest. Most often, a week before the christening, the priests talk about the sacrament itself, about what things need to be purchased, and about the important role and mission that the chosen new parents have. In the end, the most important thing when choosing a godmother is not at all the question of her status in society, but the topic of religion. It is important that the godmother be a believer and baptized.
The godmother is obliged to buy an icon of the saint with the name of the girl and a special fabric, which is called kryzhma. The best kryzhma will be a brand new white fabric, symbolizing the purity of the little girl. It is believed that in the future the mother of the baby will carefully store this fabric and not show it to anyone.
A child can be baptized after 8 days from birth, but it is important to consider that a woman who has given birth cannot enter the temple for 40 days from birth.
Beliefs
But still, there are many terrible legends among the people that if the godmother did not have time to get married before the ceremony, she would give her family happiness to the child, and she herself would not become a happy wife. Allegedly, this is why it is necessary to invite a married woman who has already had a great fate and has her own family. One way or another, all this is just superstition, and choosing who will be the godmother, nevertheless, to parents, the main thing is to take the issue seriously. It is important that the person assigned to the role be kind, believe in the Lord, and take on the new role with all the responsibility entrusted to him. The godmother is the second mother of the child, who throughout future life will help him and support him in all his affairs and undertakings.
