The birth of a child is a wonderful and long-awaited event in any family. In honor of this wonderful event, believing parents baptize their baby, thereby expressing great gratitude to the Lord and entrusting their child to him. However, it is not possible to perform the sacrament of baptism on all days.
First of all, it should be noted that in the Orthodox tradition there is no strictly established day for baptism. Parents can choose any day they see fit. Of course, the church recommends baptizing a baby in the first year of life, but this is not necessary.
Christening according to the canons
The best day for the baptism of a baby, according to Orthodox ministers, is the 8th day after his birth, because according to legend, it was on this day that the Son of God Jesus Christ was baptized. It is also customary to baptize babies 40 days after their birth.
From the point of view of the Orthodox faith, the mother of the baby is unclean for 40 days after giving birth, so the entrance to the temple is closed for her, and her stay near the newborn is extremely necessary.
Often the day of baptism is chosen in accordance with the day of this or that saint, according to which the parents intend to name the baby.
Christening "secular"
A secular religious tradition (and there is one aimed at popularizing religion) considers the period of a child's life until he reaches four months to be the most favorable time for christening, since it is at this time that the baby is able to very easily endure this procedure. At such an early age, the child is almost always in a state of sleep, so he is unlikely to be afraid of strangers, not cry.
Christenings a year have also become traditional, they are often combined with the celebration of the birthday itself. The church is loyal to such events, but the ministers strongly recommend that both the parents of the baby and the godparents come to communion, confession and service, and participate in the conversation, which is usually held the day before the baptism. Father will tell you about the sacrament and about the duties of godparents.
Most parishes have a separate day for baptism: Saturday. Christening starts after the service to be attended at 12 noon. Between the service and the actual ceremony there is a little time to light a candle in the church, pray and purchase the necessary accessories: a shirt, a pectoral cross, a candle in the altar.
Limitations
Baptism is not carried out on fasting days, as well as on memorial days. The only exceptions are cases when the child is in critical condition, but then, following the baptism, the rite of unction is also carried out. Often, the sacrament is performed on the days of major Orthodox holidays, to get to such christenings is considered good luck among the people. Many people deliberately "guess" by dates.
