BAPTISING BOATS.

Cromwell Argus, Volume L, Issue 2650, 8 December 1919, Page 7

BAPTISING BOATS.

CHILDREN AS GODPARENTS. How long ago the launching ceremony had its origin is not known, but an Assyrian tablet, dating back over two thousand years before Christ, describes the building of the ark and the religious ritual at its completion. One line runs : "To the gods I caused oxen to be sacrificed." Records tell how the ancient Egyptians blessed their ships at the launching, and the Greeks and the Romans are known to have done likewise— using both wine and water. When the "Sovereign" was launched in 1488 in the presence of Henry VII. the .vessel was renamed and ceremoniously blessed, "a mitred prelate with attendant train of priests and choristers, croziers in hand, with candle, book and bell, and holy water stoup,' performing the benediction. In 1610, when the "Prince Royal" was launched at Woolwich, the ceremony was performed by Prince Henry. According to Phineas Pette, one of King James's master shipwrights: "The noble prince, accompanied with the lord admiral and the. great lords, were on the poop, where the standing great gilt cup was ready with wine to name the ship so soon as she had been afloat, according to ancient custom and ceremony performed at such times."

During the dominance of the Catholic faith in France in the eighteenth century, and early in the nineteenth century, the launching ceremony was much akin to the baptismal service for an infant. This was especially so where merchant craft and fishing vessels were concerned. The practice lay close to the hearts of the simple people, and the pa/ish priest, a godfather, and a godmother were the principal figures. Not infrequently the godparents were mere children. No wine was used, but holy water was sprinkled on the bow with the giving of a benediction.