| 29 February |
Christening / Naming Ceremony |
How did the Victorians do it?
Most baptisms were carried out on babies – very tiny ones at that, with the average age being 4 -6 weeks. No wonder that my own father was horrified that I was taking my baby son out in public when a few weeks old, and I hadn’t even had him baptised yet! Old traditions die hard.
The Victorians being followers of etiquette and ‘doing the conventional thing’ had two main options when baptising their babies: have the ceremony at church or at home. Both were equally as popular. For a church ceremony, the child’s nurse accompanied the parents and baby to the church, and it was she, not the parents who carried the child to the font to be met by the clergyman. Indeed, the nurse (or an elderly female) and sponsors / godparents entered the church with the baby first, with the parents following at the rear. Family and friends were invited back to the house for luncheon as way of celebration after the ceremony.
For a home service, the clergyman was invited to the house to perform the ceremony. He and his wife was also requested to join the guests for the celebratory meal. The house was decked out in as much white as possible including lots of flowers. White was chosen as a symbol of purity and innocence. The table for luncheon was also decorated in white, with flowers, candles etc.
Victorian babies were always dressed in white – mostly lace robes that had a small bodice, short sleeves tied with ribbon, and a very long skirt. The robe was often accompanied by a matching or satin white hat or bonnet.
After the ceremony the babies only attended the christening breakfast or luncheon for a short time before being taken away to the nursery, leaving the guests to enjoy their meal. The meal was as grand as a wedding and was a very important event, often being very formal. Each guest was given a present of a ‘bonbonniere’ – a box containing sweets, with sugared almonds on the top. The baby’s name was often inscribed on the top of the box in silver or gold. The baby gift’s donated by the guests were displayed on a table for all to see and were usually made from silver and included cutlery sets and beakers, or if you were very lucky, a wealthy godfather would make a generous investment for the child.
The choice of godparents was a carefully considered task, with people who were considered to be more likely to raise the status of the child often chosen. However, it wasn’t acceptable to ask anyone with a much higher status than yourself to be a godparent, and those without suitable friends were left with asking relatives.
