To modern ears it sounds very anti-female, but it's just history that we must accept at face value and not criticize with our mindsets. I'm curious about the "purification" ritual for the mothers after the several weeks had passed.
Here in the USA, Catholics pick Godparents for their children for the same reason as over in Czech Republic, or Czechoslovakia in older times. I do not know about the other religions. It is a good custom to have, as we never know when our time on earth is up.
It is was interesting to read that the father takes the child to church to be baptized and the mother stays home. This explains why so often in birth records the mothers parents and of place of birth is different from child to child. The father/husband isn't giving the correct information. I thought the priest was entering the wrong information. Thank you for this article.
My great-great grandfather was the "mayor" of the village. He and his wife were apparently the sponsors for 72 baptisms. One of these days I will go through the book and see how accurate that is.
What I learned in the villages was that the mother and babe were behind the curtain for 6 weeks and only the mother's godmother could touch her. She brought her special soup in special pots. In one or two room homes with many inhabitants this protected the mother and child from infection. I was told that neither parent went to the christening. The godmother took the babe out and put a knife in the door frame saying I am taking out a Pagan and bringing back a Christian. When she returned the father was to say a special verse - if he didn't the baby was put under the table, maybe based on an old pagan custom. The ritual cloth that protected the newborn and mother might have had blessed herbs and garlic on it, a red ribbon to ward off evil, knives and scissors and needles stuck in it - again to ward of evil spirits,
To modern ears it sounds very anti-female, but it's just history that we must accept at face value and not criticize with our mindsets. I'm curious about the "purification" ritual for the mothers after the several weeks had passed.
ReplyDeleteJulie (Canada)
Julie, more about purification (or churching of women) can be found in the Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Churching_of_women
ReplyDeleteHere in the USA, Catholics pick Godparents for their children for the same reason as over in Czech Republic, or Czechoslovakia in older times. I do not know about the other religions. It is a good custom to have, as we never know when our time on earth is up.
ReplyDeleteIt is was interesting to read that the father takes the child to church to be baptized and the mother stays home. This explains why so often in birth records the mothers parents and of place of birth is different from child to child. The father/husband isn't giving the correct information. I thought the priest was entering the wrong information. Thank you for this article.
ReplyDeleteMy great-great grandfather was the "mayor" of the village. He and his wife were apparently the sponsors for 72 baptisms. One of these days I will go through the book and see how accurate that is.
ReplyDeleteI finally counted the baptisms one day, and found less than 2 dozen in several villages. So much for family history.
DeleteWhat I learned in the villages was that the mother and babe were behind the curtain for 6 weeks and only the mother's godmother could touch her. She brought her special soup in special pots. In one or two room homes with many inhabitants this protected the mother and child from infection. I was told that neither parent went to the christening. The godmother took the babe out and put a knife in the door frame saying I am taking out a Pagan and bringing back a Christian. When she returned the father was to say a special verse - if he didn't the baby was put under the table, maybe based on an old pagan custom. The ritual cloth that protected the newborn and mother might have had blessed herbs and garlic on it, a red ribbon to ward off evil, knives and scissors and needles stuck in it - again to ward of evil spirits,
ReplyDeleteI would love to know the customs involved with illegitimate births and why so many of these children died.
ReplyDeleteJudi, this post answers some of your questions: http://czechgenealogy.nase-koreny.cz/2013/04/illegitimate-children.html
DeleteMe too, as my family discovered about a year that our grandmother was illegitimate.
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