Family Ceremonies

A naming ceremony is essentially a non-religious christening. It is an opportunity to publicly celebrate the arrival of your baby into your circle of family and friends, to declare their name, and to collectively express your joy and love for your child.  

 

Involving your loved ones in rituals

It is also an opportunity for the people who are important in the child's life to reflect upon their role in the child’s upbringing.  Grandparents and siblings could be involved in a unity ritual such as a candle lighting or a sand blending ceremony. These rituals are often performed within wedding ceremonies to reflect the coming together of two families; they also work wonderfully well within a naming ceremony, being visually beautiful as well as being an enchanting symbol of belonging.

 

Mentors or Guide Parents

You may choose to invite a couple of your closest friends to act as guide-parents or mentors, who, within the ceremony, will make declarations to take a supportive role in your child’s life.  Guide-parents are active role models, who promise to offer love and emotional support throughout the child’s life.  You may choose to include promises to the child, written by your guide-parents, or I can do this for you.

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Parents

Naming ceremonies offer a joyful way to lovingly celebrate your child and publicly introduce them to your community of family and friends. Parental promises can be made to the child. Parents can celebrate their child’s uniqueness, and their gratitude for the new addition to their family.  Parents may also want to share their future aspirations for their child. 

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Parents can engage in unity rituals or consider planting a tree as a symbol of their intention to nurture their child, give them stability of strong roots and the confidence to grow emotionally and reach for what makes them happy.

 

Involving the child

Prints of the baby’s hands and feet could be taken during the ceremony and made into a framed keepsake. Similarly, baby’s prints could be added to a commemorative certificate, which could also be signed by the parents and guide-parents.  

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A light-hearted act, which is commonly practiced at first birthday parties in China, is zhua zhou.  Various items, linked to careers such as a calculator, whisk or book, are laid out before the baby, whatever baby choses is a prediction of his future career.

 

Involving the guests

Like the ring blessing ceremony at a wedding, a piece of jewellery, often a bracelet can be given to the child as part of the ceremony.  Prior to the presentation, each guest briefly holds the bracelet and imbues their positivity into it.  This could be in the form of a silent wish, a little prayer or a bundle of love.  The bracelet becomes far more valuable, as it now holds the love and good wishes of everybody in the room.

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