BABY BOOKED AT ALTAR.
A QUAINT OLD CUSTOM.
A largo congregation, in which women predominated, gathered in the ancient parish church of Blidworth, England, recently, to watch the quaint, old-world religious ceremony of rocking a baby in front of the altar. The ceremony was performed by the bachelor vicar, the Rev. John Lowndes. Blidworth rocking has been an important village ceremony for many centuries. The ancient custom was that the last baptised baby boy should be brought to the church by his parents on the first Sunday in February and presented before the altar. At the last service a wooden cradle, made 60 years ago. illuminated by two candles, decorated with Candlemas flowers and draped with white, was placed inside the altar rails. Ths parents of the infant walked towards the altar, where the vicar took the child from its mother's arms and presented it to the altar, naming it and offering up a brief prayer. He then laid the baby in the cradle very gently and rocked it several times.
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZH19230324.2.188.11
Bibliographic details
New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18357, 24 March 1923, Page 2 (Supplement)
Word Count
171BABY BOOKED AT ALTAR. New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18357, 24 March 1923, Page 2 (Supplement)
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