Three
years ago I conducted Christine and Chris’s wedding ceremony in an outdoor natural
bushland setting in Eltham. They were elated
when Christine’s pregnancy was confirmed in 2011 and their baby boy was born a
few months ago. His mum and dad asked me
to create a Naming ceremony for him and I
had the honour of conducting his Namegiving and Life Welcoming ceremony
yesterday in the presence of close family and friends.
He
was named Phoenix Stavros Terrance and
it was a delight to see the joy on the faces of his grandfathers. Christine and Chris continued a long family
tradition - the baby’s middle and third
names honour his grandfathers. A little while ago, I conducted a Namegiving ceremony for a baby girl where her first name was fresh and contemporary whilst her middle name was her mother’s maiden name. It’s their family custom which has been carried on through several generations and serves a multi-faceted purpose of bolsters family bonds, establishes descent and lineage, and makes a family tree that is easy to research. Naturally, the result is that this baby girl, as well as her own sisters and some of her blood cousins carry the same middle name. However it is a delightful tradition and added interest to the ceremony.
