Baptism
April 10th was a big day for our household – our goddaughter, Dana Briseis, was finally baptized on her six month birthday. A big difference from baptisms in the US is that only the parents and the godparents attend the baptism (not the entire family, even grandparents, aunts and uncles, etc). So it was just us, the other godparents, and the mother, Carol, who is our closest friend here in the Philippines.
[Before the ceremony, outside the 16th century Church of Immaculate Conception]
It was such an honor to be part of this tradition. Before the ceremony, we attended a short class on the responsibilities of being godparents. During the ceremony, we stood with Carol and Dana at the front of the church and held lighted candles as part of the ritual.
About a dozen babies were baptized at the same time. The priest prayed over them all and rubbed holy water on their heads. Little Dana slept through the whole thing.
There was a reception at a local restaurant afterwards. As ninong and ninang (godparents) we gave gifts: a photo album (which is a rarity here) and a stuffed panda (my family will like the significance of this…)
[Three generations: Carol (“nanay” = mother), Dana (“iday” = baby girl), Julie (“lola” = grandma). Julie also lives at our house and is the primary caretaker for the baby, because Carol is finishing her degree. These three ladies, plus our nanay, make up our family here and the six of us share lots of laughs together. We really enjoy living with these ladies.]
This was a big day for many reasons – for Dana, it was her first time to leave the house. (Here, the belief is that babies should stay in the home until baptized). For her mother Carol, it meant that her daughter was growing up and officially part of the Catholic Church. And for us, it was another step forward in becoming part of this community. We are constantly grateful for new inroads here and for the privilege to share in some of our friends’ most important life moments.
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