Naming Day

We have a tradition in our family that when our newest baby is around 3-4 months old we hold a Naming Day ceremony. It is somewhat of a secular christening, in which we welcome the baby formally into our community, and we declare (secular) Godparents for the child. We share with our guests the meaning behind our new child's names and how she or he came to be so named. Last week we celebrated Lenus' naming day.

Our tribe at the Naming Day

We're sometimes asked why we give our children Godparents when we actively reject religion and consider spirituality be an highly personal and private affair, detached from religion. To us, a Godparent is an honouring aunt or uncle, invited into the family to take a special interest in that child's life. For us the children's Godparents are people we point to in their lives and say "These people are safe. These people love you like family. You can turn to these adults when you need someone but aren't ready to turn to your parents" which we believe will be more significant in their adolescent years than childhood. It has been beautiful to watch Gaia and Yemaya build relationships with their Godmother and Godfather respectively. They know they are special to those adults and it's a relationship they have with those adults that their siblings do not have. It is also rather lovely expanding our family this way with each baby. We gain a blessed child and two more extended relatives <3

It got emotional

Our son's Godfather officiated the proceedings and everything he said was perfect. He spoke a little about the history of naming days and shared that in some cultures the child's name isn't revealed until the naming day, and before announcing to the world, the mother whispers the baby's name in his ear. I happened to do this with Lenus, but Lenus' welcome to the world was quite different from his sisters'. He required a transfer to hospital and a stay in the Special Care Nursery for a week. With our eldest three we named them while holding them in their birth pools, coming down from the great oxytocin high. We were sad to miss this moment with Lenus, so Eale and I decided not name him until we returned home from special care. In that first week we tried many different names on our son, whispering them over and over to see what fit. Once we've named our children we're quick to share the name with our friends and family (and I could not stand to organise/host a naming day any sooner than 3 months!)

His Godfather also spoke about how special it was to be able to celebrate Lenus' little life, because it was a miracle he lived. We spoke about the Celtic God Lenus and connection between his the other names we gave him which he shares with his Grandfather and deceased Great Grandfather. A friend read a picture book about the preciousness of new life and a poem. And the women who were with me as I birthed him spoke about that experience and their feelings for Lenus and I. It was a very moving day. We also took the opportunity to give special thanks and a small gift to each of the individuals who made such a huge difference to our family in those first challenging weeks.

Lenus was wearing a lovely outfit hand crafted by Frida's Godmother/my very dear friend who drove five hours to be with us, jumped back in the car and drove all the way back in a single day!

It was a very moving day for us and we're so grateful to the friends and family who joined us (some traveling very far). We are very blessed, indeed.

Lenus with his Godmother

xoxo