Poll Results: Where did you buy your christening outfit

You can buy Christening apparel at boutique shops, nicer retailers like Nordstrom, or online. We asked our blog visitors 1) if they bought online, and 2) if so, did they buy from the same computer where they found the outfit. For example, did they search at work and buy at home? Here are the results from 84 respondents:

• 17% did not buy their Christening outfit online
• 73% who bought online bought from the same computer they found the outfit on
• 10% found the outfit on one computer and bought on another
  

Of course, this is not representative all Christening outfit purchases, since all those visiting this blog are Internet users. Therefore, there is a higher percentage of Internet buyers. However, the purchase of Christening outfits online grows each year.

Results of Our Latest Poll

We asked people who bought Christening outfits who made the purchase. Some tradition holds that the godparents must buy the outfit, while some people don't like tradition. They want to buy their outfit for their child. We had 62 people reply. Here are the results:

Who bought the outfit?

• Baby's father/mother - 44 people (70%)
• Baby's grandmother - 10 people (16%)
• Baby's godparent - 6 people (9%)
• Someone else - 2 people (3%)

If you're the mother/father, how did you find the website where you purchased?

• I did a search on Google - 36 people (81%)
• I did a search somewhere else - 5 people (11%)
• Someone told me about the website - 3 people (6%)
• 0% on other response options: 1) someone emailed me the link, 2) I'm a returning customer, and 3) I did not make the purchase.
  

If you're NOT the mother/father, how did you find the website?

• I did a search on Google - 19 people (90%)
• Someone emailed me a link to the website - 2 people (9%)
• 0% on other response options: 1) someone told me about the website, 2) I'm a returning customer, and 3) I did not make the purchase myself.
  

Do you like a little splash of color, or prefer the traditional?

How fast do you think Christening gowns change in fashion? Most of us think baptism and Christening gowns as something purely traditional that don't change through the years or with the seasons. However, Christening dress styles change frequently with manufacturers retiring old styles and bringing in new ones every year.

So what/who makes the trends? Obviously not the runways in Paris or Milan, right? Well, kind of right. Christening gowns actually follow the trends of bridal gowns, believe it or not. So, if you're talking about runway models with wedding gowns, then indeed Christening gowns styles are influenced by the industry of high fashion.

Are baptism gowns in Europe different from what you see in the U.S.? Definitely. You will see (for you traditionalists, don't gasp) color accented Christening apparel throughout Europe and Great Britain. Seems a little counter intuitive that our fellow Christians who baptize their children in multi-century old cathedrals are less traditional in their Christening tastes than we young-country Americans.

What about you? What do you prefer? Traditional or new fashion? Color or pure white? If there were more styles to choose with color, would you consider that for your child?

What's Tradition? Who Finds the Gown? Who Buys It?

Associated with all ceremonies are general traditions that people follow, in particular, traditions of who pays for what. Marriage, for example, has certain payment protocols associated with it. As an example, the groom and his family host (and pay for) the wedding brunch. And the bride's family picks up the tab for everything else.

The formalities of Christenings are less rigid and vary from congregation to congregation and from family to family. In some congregations, for example, it is traditional for the Christening gown to be a gift from the Godparents. But in many families the grandmother on the father's side has the privilege of choosing an outfit. The child's parents don't even see the gown until the day of Christening. Perhaps most common is the mother picks the Christening outfit and her parents pay for it.

How about you? Who chose the Christening gown or outfit and what was his/her relationship to the Christened child? And who paid for it? If that person was you, was it a fun experience?

Results of Our Poll

Today on blog.ShepherdsKids.com, we ended a poll asking the question of the personal significance of baptism. As hosts of this blog, we were a little surprised at the results from our 120 respondents. We thought the poll votes would be more evenly spread across all response options. However, they overwhelmingly skewed toward only two response options. Here are the results:

Poll Question: "What is the most significant part of baptism to you?"

• 54% answered - A way to proclaim the child as part of a church or religious community
• 21% - A fun event to celebrate a child's life
• 15% - An opportunity for you to profess your faith by child's baptism
• 7% - Sins are literally washed away
• 3% - An opportunity for your child to profess his/her faith by being baptized

What are your thoughts? Do you agree with the majority of poll respondents? Does the Bible agree with our respondents?

Are You a Pedobaptist?

Chances are, if you're reading this blog, you are indeed a pedobaptist. Don't worry, it isn't a skin condition, a psychological problem, or in fact, any problem at all. It simply means you believe (or at least you belong to a church that believes) baptism is appropriate--or even necessary--for infants.

"Pedo" is Greek for child (as in "pediatrician"). This differs from the Greek word "credo", which is the other variety of baptist. So, if you don't believe in infant baptism but do believe in baptism for those who are old enough to profess their faith in Christ, you're a credobaptist. "Credo" is Greek for belief or faith (as in "creeds and religions").

There is a bit of a rivalry between the credobaptists and the pedobaptists. Not the kind of rivalry that manifests itself on the football field or basketball court, but it is indeed a rivalry that has been heated at times. In fact, many protestant religious movements base a large part of their differences on the idea of child baptism.

Are all pedobaptist Christians the same in their beliefs concerning baptism? Not really. However, there are some fundamental beliefs that most of them share. The following was taken from Wikipedia's article on "infant baptism" as of 11-30-07 (for the full article see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infant_baptism) :

"The general consensus is that baptism is the New Testament form of circumcision. In the Old Testament, all male converts to Judaism, male infants born to Jewish parents, and male servants were circumcised as ceremony of initiation into the Jewish community. Paedobaptists believe that baptism has replaced Old Testament circumcision and is the religious ceremony of initiation into the Christian community. Beyond this, very little is agreed on the subject among Christian denominations.

"During the medieval and Reformation eras, infant baptism was seen as a way to incorporate new-born babies into the secular community as well as inducting them into the Christian faith.

The Significance of Baptism is Personal

Why do we perform the baptismal or Christening ceremony? There may be some good doctrinal reasons for baptism, and those reasons vary depending on your faith. However, the Christening usually has a more personal significance that is often non-doctrinal. Please share with us your feelings on this holy rite by prioritizing the following reasons for child baptism.

Baptism of my child is important because it is... (make a comment and list the two or three things that are most important to you from the list below)

• 1) An outward sign for the the parent to profess faith
• 2) An outward sign for the child to profess faith in Christ
• 3) An ordinance that shows my child is part of a religious community (like a church or covenant community).
• 4) A literal washing away of sin unto repentance
• 5) A memorable occasion for family and friends to celebrate the life of my child
• 6) (Something else not listed here)