Naming ceremony?

[enigma]

What is the difference between a naming ceremony and a christening?
And what sort of age would have these done, like what age would be considered too old?

Im wondering because id like to do something for my kids, you know, some sort of celebration of their lives without all the religion thing coming into it.

(no offence to any one who is religious, i just dont want to label them with one thing which they might end up not believing in when they are older).

 

[PeanutBean]

Christening is for being brought into the Christian church, naming ceremony is non-religious. I don't know the difference in terms of procedure as I've never been to a naming ceremony. You can be christened at any age. I can't imagine there would be a limit for a naming ceremony but I imagine people wouldn't want this is the kid was old!

 

[xXDonnaXx]

This is something I'm looking into, so I'll keep peeking in too see other's posts.

 

[helen1234]

christening is done in the church and naming ceremony is without the church its a celebration either way the choice is completely upto alot of people don't bother with either,
i'm having my baby christened because although i don't go to church anymore i'll be sending my child to c of e school and will still be learning the bible etc....
i will marry in a church and get buried by the church.
it doesnt mean if he wants to be a different religion he can't be.
i had my daughter christened as well and it was lovely, and the party after was great too.
i think it more of a family get together than anything more these days.

 

[enigma]

This is something I'm looking into, so I'll keep peeking in too see other's posts.

Well ive been googling and you might find this link useful https://www.civilceremonies.co.uk/naming.htm

I also discovered that although naming ceremonies look like a great idea for babies, they dont really do them for older kids, so im now thinking a blessing would be a better option for us as ill be able to have all the kids done at the same time and although its done by a vicar, it isent necessarily a religious thing.

 

[xXDonnaXx]

Thanks. It is definately something I'm going to do instead of christen my LO.

And it's great you can deliver the ceremony yourself, or get someone do it for you.

 

[Shifter]

Remember that you don't have to get an appointed official to conduct a naming ceremony. You can have a friend or family member do one for a child of any age.

 

[marley2580]

I had a naming day for Kaya, it was really nice. We wrote promises for the supporting adults and got them to write a couple of their own as well, and we wrote our own as well, and we all made the promises to Kaya. We didn't have someone officiating, it all just kind of flowed.

 

[carries]

check out your local registry office. Ours do a naming ceremony which their registrar will perform for £99. ALot cheaper than some of the private companies that do it

 

[helen1234]

I had a naming day for Kaya, it was really nice. We wrote promises for the supporting adults and got them to write a couple of their own as well, and we wrote our own as well, and we all made the promises to Kaya. We didn't have someone officiating, it all just kind of flowed.

what a lovely idea that is, my family isnt so much religous, it just something everyone does, my granpa handmade the christening gown, it took him a year and its absolutely gorgeous so feel i have to use it.
i'm not religous in the sense i go to church but, i believe in god (although sometimes i question it)
i celebrate xmas, i celebrate easter, my children do R.E at school which are C of E schools, i'd get married in a church, and be buried b y the church.
so why not get my children blessed in a church.

although now i see the alternatives i'm going to look seriously into a naming ceremony, that way i dont have the hassle of choosing god parents which i know i'll have sleepless nights over.

 

[spoo]

My niece had a naming ceremony about 9 months ago. It was held in a registry office type place run by the council. There was a lady officiating the ceremony and it all ran really smoothly.

There were 3 of us supporting adults and we sat at the front during the ceremony, and read out poems / promises etc.

After the ceremony we went back to the parents' house for a family gathering. It was a lovely day.

 

[jolyn]

Hey hun, I had a naming ceremony for DS when he was 12 weeks old at our house. It was fab and can't wait to do it again for this one.

We had options to include older children in the ceremony, so I'm sure there's someway of incorporating the older ones. The lady that did ours was great and very flexible to what we wanted, it's a great substitute for a christening if ur not religious (which we're not) - I would def recommend it.

 

[Faerie]

Hi, neither of us are religious, if my child wants to choose a religion when they're older then that's up to them.
I'm planning on having a "naming ceremony", but very informal, just a family get together celebrating my childs life - I like the idea of "supporting adults" and the promise making, sounds lovely.

 

[enigma]

I think thats the only thing i would struggle on tbh, the supporting adults.
From experience i know that everyone wants to help when baby is all shiny and new, but they loose interest when they get older.

Im definatly thinking about it, it would be nice to show the kids how much we think of them and cherish their lives.

 

[Shifter]

I think thats the only thing i would struggle on tbh, the supporting adults.
From experience i know that everyone wants to help when baby is all shiny and new, but they loose interest when they get older.

The supporting adults role is the secular version of godparents. No one really expects godparents to *do* anything these days, it's a nice gesture towards a couple of people in your life. I hasten to add that I have nothing against the selection of godparents or supporting adults! When we have our naming ceremony we'll be asking a couple of people to do this. I think it's a nice gesture and something that helps make the day interesting and special.