Creating Baby Centric Rituals
Sponsored Content from Celebrant Foundation & Institute
Photo Credit: Courtesy Celebrant Foundation & Institute
When my youngest daughter Joy asked me to be her doula for the birth of her first baby, I was so honored. Becoming a grandmother for the second time, after a wait of fourteen years, has been incredible.
Tradition vs Trends
When little Chiara was six months old, she was part of a Catholic mass baptism - one of seventeen babies. Though the occasion was lovely, there could have been another choice for the new parents. More meaningful personalized ceremony is an upcoming trend thanks to specially trained Certified Life-Cycle Celebrants®. Secularism is on the rise with over thirty per cent of young adults unaffiliated with religion*. Creating your own tailored ritual is a way to reflect a blending of traditions that bring family together and introduce your child to the circle of people who will love and support them.
According to celebrant Holly Pruett, her clients hired her because internet baby welcome rituals didn’t quite fit and they “missed not having a formal ‘welcome to your family, we are your people ritual.’’
Roots and Wings
Ritual helps to establish your child’s own history through the telling of stories that are unique to them and form an anchor to who they are. It is so eloquently said by Hodding Carter Jr., “There are two lasting bequests we can give our children. One is roots. The other is wings.”
Enhancing Ritual
Creating special rituals together that have personal meaning to mark the milestones of a new life, will enhance your family relationships and deepen important community connections. As I help my daughter plan her daughter’s future milestone celebrations, I hope she sees the truth in journalist Christopher Morley’s statement: “It is as grandmothers that our mothers come into the fullness of their grace.”
*per the Pew Research Statistical Center
Marilyn Dion began her career as secretary for the Federal Tri-Level Conferences, became one of the first female life insurance underwriters, a shopping center marketing director, general manager and a museum curator. Today she enjoys her favorite job as a Life-Cycle Celebrant® writing and officiating at ceremonies to help others celebrate their milestones in personalized meaningful ways. Find more information about Marilyn at www.wovenwordsceremonies.com.
About the Author
Marilyn Dion is a Life-Cycle Celebrant®, owner of Woven Words Ceremonies and the Canada East Alumni Mentor for the Celebrant Foundation & Institute. She can be reached at [email protected].
