Hispanic Culture: Christenings

Hispanic Culture: Christenings via The LEAF Project

Hispanic Culture: Christenings

If you are invited to a christening (un bautizo) you should consider this an honor, since christenings are famliy affairs and someone thought enough of you to have extended an invitation. Don’t forget to take a gift for the child; it does not have to be expensive. Religious artifacts, by the way are handled by the padrinos (Godparents).

Christenings are normally held on weekends. The ceremony is at a church and the baptismal (bautizo) get-together is usually at the parents’ home following the ceremony. Food is almost always served.

When a child is given a name, not only does family tradition play a role in the name selection, but there is often a religious tradition involved as well: the Saint’s Day (Día del Santo). It is not uncommon for a name to be determined by the saint’s day on which the child was born or by the saint the parents venerated or felt a special devotion to. For example, this tradition is reflected in the very popular Mexican song, “Las Mañanitas,” an equivalent of “Happy Birthday”: hoy pro see día de tu santo the venimos a cantar. Translation: “today being your Saint’s Day, we come to praise you.”

Names like Jesús, Angel, María del Rosario, Guadalupe, Jesús María, and so forth, are common and by no means considered sacrilegious.

The LEAF Project
www.leaflanguages.org
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