Not all parents like to have a religious ceremony to introduce their baby into the community and to have it accepted. There are some who feel that religion should have nothing to do with it and that the baby should be accepted as an individual with no religious strings attached. These are especially true for couples who do not belong to any religious denomination.
For parents who wish to have their child welcomed without any religion complicating matters, a baby welcoming ceremony can be celebrated in their home or in a friend’s house.
A friend who volunteers their house would be the best move here as this is already a gift by itself. This will free the mother and the father from having to go through some clean ups and decorating in the middle of all the hustle and bustle of midnight feedings and changing of diapers.
The ceremony can be held anywhere, but a great fresh way to go would be to celebrate it outdoors, this way even the party can be a barbeque party. Just make sure that there is a tent outside so if it rains, the baby would not get wet and sick.
Prepare a short program for the schedule of events. You can start off by welcoming each guest with a white candle. When everyone is gathered, the candles can be lit and all guests surround the parents and the baby. Then a lay minister or lay priest can start a blessing and a welcome prayer for the child.
The appointed Guardians or Godparents can then offer a reading in honor of the child that they are going to help the parents nurture and love. Tell the appointed Guardian that this is not the same as a legal guardian; this is more of a spiritual guardianship. Before the ceremony is over, the parent can reveal the name of the child, from that time on, the child will be a recognized member of the community.
There are some traditions where a planting of a perennial tree is ceremoniously done after the blessing. This is done for every child born in the community. Ask the men to help the new daddy to plant the tree in the yard of their home after the celebration is done, or this could be done just the day before the actual welcoming party.
As this is a community affair, it would be expected that the members of the community share in the food. Each guest will be asked to bring their own homemade food which will be laid out on a buffet table amongst all the foods that other guests brought. This way, everyone will have their own signature to the baby welcoming.
A Thank You card and a pouch of scented potpourri would be a great party favor that guests can bring home after the party is over. This way, they could just put the potpourri in heated water and let the essences cleanse the house.
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