On October 4, we welcomed Light to the Christian world. It should be one of the major events in Light’s life, a milestone some would say. But having Light baptized wasn’t really a big deal for me nor my husband. Just like getting married in a church, baptism was more of a tradition to me than something spiritual.
My take on baptism is that it’s something that has to be done, a part of the child’s life, but not really because I believe in what it symbolizes or what it means. I was baptized a Catholic. I was born and I live in a Catholic country. I went to a Catholic school. I even joined a Catholic youth group before. But I was never really “religious”. So having Light baptized was just another thing that I needed to cross off my to do list.
Nevertheless, my husband and I were both excited. I enjoy going to/planning events. And I think I enjoyed going to/planning events even more now that I have light, because I just love dressing her up! 🙂
I bought her white dress at Zara way, way, way before we decided we were going to have her baptized. I just love Zara Baby clothes! Then I got her these barefoot sandals and head band from Zuri Baby Couture when we finally decided on the date and the other details. 🙂 These barefoot sandals were perfect because it stayed on her feet all through out the ceremony and our lunch get together afterwards.
Planning her baptism had its share of stress, especially since we decided to have her baptism done on a different day from her first birthday party. So instead of planning just one event, I had to plan two. Anyway, three important things to think about when planning your baby’s Christening – TIME, LOCATION, and GUESTS.
We decided to have a private baptism, on a Sunday morning so there’s a good chance that all the godparents will be available. We also decided to invite our immediate families only.
It used to be that you didn’t need a permission letter from your parish (meaning the parish governing where you live) if you want to be baptized at a specific church. But there’s a new rule now. So we had to go to “our” parish first to get the permission letter (need to pay for this), then submit it to the parish that we wanted. But it wasn’t that easy. We needed to be sure that the parish we chose was a sure ball because these permission letters are specific. They will be addressed only to that specific parish. If the location of the two parishes were near each other, it wouldn’t be much of a hassle. But our first choice (Mt. Carmel in Broadway, Q.C.) had no more available dates that we wanted. We had to take the risk that after getting the permission letter, our second choice would still be available (a little far away from “our” parish). If not, then we would have to go back to “our” parish and get another letter. We just didn’t want to go back and forth.
Luckily, Santuario de San Jose in Greenhills Village was still available by the time we got there to make our reservations. I like this church. They offer private baptisms only and the space is big enough for a bunch of people. I forgot how big it was. If I knew, I would have invited the whole family to witness the ceremony. I think 15-20 people can fit in comfortably. It’s a bit over the expensive side, though (P2,000 reservation fee with first 2 sponsors/godparents included; additional P50 for every sponsor/godparent; no candles).
It was a short and quiet ceremony. Light wasn’t too happy but she didn’t cry or made a fuss too. I was particularly delighted to see the godparents use my DIY candles. 🙂
After the ceremony, we had lunch at Amici, just outside the village where the church was. Light was the star and she was just happy to be the center of attention.
*****Updated July 2018 (as I plan for my second child’s baptism)*****
Requirements:
- Secure a letter of consent from your parish (if you are not having the sacrament in your parish). Your parish is the one governing where you live or the address that’s in your child’s birth certificate.
- You will need a copy of your child’s birth certificate for the letter of consent and to submit to the church where you’ll have the baptism.
- You will also need a copy of your marriage contract.
Mommy
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