43rd National Táncház Festival & Fair • 5–7 April 2024
Issue:
Starting page: 28
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Christening traditions in Roman Catholic Hungarian villages of Moldavia. Discussed are: customs around who and how many people became godparents, their relationship to the parents of the child and to the godchild, what the godparents’ tasks were/are, how names for the baby were/are chosen, who performed christenings in the absence of a priest (sometimes it was the midwife), how long after birth a child was christened, what was eaten and when was the christening feast held, etc ”...when godparents left taking a newborn baby to be christened, they said: ”God willing, dear mother of the baby, we’ll be back soon: we are taking a heathen and will bring you back a Christian...” By Halász Péter.