The Gift of Godparents - Age Old Baptism Traditions That Remain Relevant Today

Godparents....where did the tradition come from? They're not mentioned in the Bible, but the practice has certainly been around for many hundreds of years.

The idea of godparents - or sponsors - dates way back to the ancient church. When a person wished to convert to Christianity, he or she had to find a Christian witness to vouch for the sincerity of his or her belief. This "sponsor" would also assist the new convert in becoming a faithful member of the church.

With the advent of infant baptism, the role of sponsors/godparents evolved into one of ensuring that the child received a Christian education. Though history indicates that the custom initially was for mothers and fathers to serve as sponsors for their own children, by the Middle Ages the practice of selecting other individuals as godparents was well established.

In Elizabethan England, godparents played another important role, as babies were often named at baptism after one of them. (During that period infants typically had three godparents: for girls, it was two women and one man, while with boys it was the reverse - two men and one woman.)

Another baptism tradition that survives today is special attire. When we think of infant baptism, many of us conjure up a beautiful gown...a custom still popular with many people today but whose origins date back to somewhere around the 16th century. Rather than a gown or dress, though, the baby was wrapped in a "bearing cloth" - a large, single piece of fabric made from silk, satin, velvet or the like and edged with fancy trimmings of lace or braid. This evolved into a christening robe in the 18th century, similar to what we think of today.

By the time of the Victorian Era, lavishly embellished gowns adorned with intricate embroidery and lace were all the rage. After the firstborn in the family was baptized, the gown was carefully packed away and used for each of the children to follow. Many of the gowns were passed down through families, becoming heirlooms. (It's amazing to see the prices some of those ornate antique christening dresses and bonnets fetch today!)

And while we associate white with baptismal dress, some accounts indicate that English babies may have worn brightly colored robes throughout the 17th century, and that christening dresses of French babies were typically yellow or gold until the 18th century.

Fast forward to the present, where the more things change, the more they remain the same! If you'll soon be welcoming a new arrival into the family and are already looking forward to baby's baptism day, you may be getting ready to pull an heirloom christening gown out of storage. Or perhaps you're going to start your own tradition and are planning on purchasing a gown to pass down through your own family.

You may have already selected the people who will be your child's "first friends in faith" - the godparents - or if not, you're probably getting close to making that decision. Depending on your faith tradition, you may be counting on your child's godparents to actively support the spiritual education and growth of their godchild. And since godparents are often very close relatives or friends, your baby might even be named after one of them. Not so different from hundreds of years ago!

If you're in search of a memorable gift for godparents to commemorate the day, consider a unique personalized memento custom created especially for them. Visit http://www.thechristiangift.com to see how you can make a memory with beautiful inspirational gifts.

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