Carrots for Michaelmas

Cultivating a Catholic family through literature, liturgical living, and urban homesteading

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Baptismal Traditions (And Giveaway from CheruBalm!)

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Baptismal Traditions // Carrots for Michaelmas

Today I’m partnering with CheruBalm to chat baptismal traditions (and offering a great giveaway at the end of the post!). As we’ve been unpacking in our new house, I uncovered the box with the kids’ baptismal candles and special mementos from their baptismal days (such sweet memories!) and I’ve received a few questions about baptismal traditions so lately so it just seemed timely.

Baptism days are just the best. We were still Baptists when our oldest child was born, so he wasn’t baptized until he was about 18 months old.

Baptismal Traditions

Look at that sweet guy! Too big for a baptismal gown and still cute as a button.

But the girls were each baptized when they were about two weeks old. I couldn’t wait for them to receive the sacrament! So let’s talk traditions:

Reception:

It’s by no means required, but it’s common practice for families to have a reception after the baptism to celebrate the occasion. We’ve done a couple at our home and one at a church hall. Just some light refreshments and coffee. But you can go big if you want to!

Because postpartum moms are usually not up for doing too much reception preparation (showing up showered with baby in a gown is definitely about all I can handle) it’s awesome to have some help coordinating. If extended family or godparents want to be involved with setting up the reception, let them!

Baptismal Traditions

Photos

The kids love seeing photos of their baptism and so we show them on their baptismal anniversaries (baptismaversaries?). The parents and godparents really have their hands full during the baptism (Babies to hold! Candles to hold! Renouncing Satan!), try to have a friend or family member available to take photos. You’ll be so glad you have them!

Baptismal Traditions

Other Traditions

I was curious to hear about baptismal traditions in other families so I asked around. Here’s a few that I really liked:

  • Consecrating the baby to Our Lady on the day of his/her baptism.
  • Pinning a special sacramental (like a miraculous medal) on the baby’s diaper for the baptism.
  • Passing down a family christening gown for the baby to wear. (We thought the gown we used for the girls’ baptisms was from my aunt’s family but she said it wasn’t and so now it’s a mystery gown.)
  • Have the godmother help prepare for the baptism by dressing the baby in his/her baptismal gown.
  • Send the godparents cards on Mother’s and Father’s Day.
  • Celebrate the anniversary of the baptism like a birthday (the birthday of the child’s life in the Church!)
  • Observe the anniversary of the child’s baptism with these beautiful prayers.

And there’s some great practical tips for your child’s baptism over at my friend Kathryn’s blog, Team Whitaker.

Gifts:

You are 100% NOT required to bring a gift to a baptism. Having loved ones attend a baby’s baptism is a huge gift in itself. But often the godparents and some friends and family members might want to offer the baby a special gift. Our children have received beautiful rosaries and baby bracelets, and my youngest’s godmother even made her a beautiful baptismal blanket with scalloped lace on the edges (so perfect for a baptism!).

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I keep all these special mementos in a box and bring them out on the kids’ baptismaversaries (did we decide we can call them that?) along with the baptismal candle they received so we can light it. (And I keep their baptismal certificates in there, too. Tangent: Make sure you keep those somewhere safe because your kids will need them later to receive other sacraments!)

That Chrism Oil Tho

And speaking of gifts, I recently discovered a lovely option. Of course we all know that other than seeing a new little Catholic be cleansed of original sin and marked as Christ’s own forever, the best thing about baptisms is smelling the holy chrism oil on the baby’s head for days afterwards. Am I right or AM I RIGHT?!

Baptismal Traditions

I have been known to postpone baths for weeks afterwards because I don’t want the smell to ever go away. Are you horrified? We don’t bath our kids much over here. They seem to be fine. ANYHOW, luckily for all of us chrism-scent aficionados, the folks over at CheruBalm discovered a lovely way to keep that best-smell-in-the-world and soothe your baby’s sensitive skin. And it makes the perfect gift for baptisms, baby showers, or as a Christmas stocking stuffer (anybody else struggle to find good stocking stuffers for babies?).

So cute and the scents are all to-die-for. I plan to include them in every baby shower gift from now on. And it really is the perfect size for a stocking stuffer. In addition to the Chrism scent, there’s an unscented, a “Silent Night” with calming essential oils, and a floral-scented Flowers from Heaven with Rose Geranium essential oils.

CheruBalm

If, like me, you’re obsessive about what you let touch your baby’s skin, you’ll love the ingredient list of natural goodness. It’s handmade in small batches and great for tackling diaper rash (it’s also cloth diaper safe!). I even tried out the Flowers from Heaven scent on my potty trained toddler’s little bum for some irritation after a stomach bug. I also branched out a bit and used the Khrisma (chrism-scent) as a soothing moisturizer for my legs (because this time of year the dryness gives me razor burn). Perfection!

I’m also partial to CheruBalm because I love supporting small Catholic businesses. The Johnsons, the family behind CheruBalm, homeschool their five kids and have backyard chickens, too, so we’re probably kindred spirits.

Giveaway:

CheruBalm is offering TWO lucky Carrots readers a large tube of the chrism scent and TWO more lucky readers a small tube of the chrism scent. So FOUR winners, total!

CheruBalm: Chrism-scented Baby BalmHere’s how to enter the giveaway:

(Only for Carrots readers in the United States and Canada for shipping reasons)

1. Mandatory entries: Visit the Cherubalm website and then come back and leave a comment at Carrots telling us which of the four scents you are most excited about. 

2. Additional 2 entries: Sign up for CheruBalm’s VIP deals list. (And folks who do will receive a 15% discount code within 2 days!) Be sure to leave an additional TWO comments letting us know you signed up (that way I can be sure not to miss any of your entries–can be as simple as two comments that both say “signed up!”). 


I will choose the winners by random number generator. Giveaway ends on Friday, November 4th at midnight EST. Good luck, friends!!

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. Review and giveaway items were provided by CheruBalm. All opinions are my own. I only promote products I would purchase myself and I love giving away wonderful things to my readers!

Comments

  1. Seriously. Newborns smell amazing anyway (ahhh that new baby smell!) but chrism laden newborns are just heavenly. I would love that Khrisma scent for sure!

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  15. As Bonnie would say, shut the front door. I am practically a chrism-scent addict! So I am ear-marking this in joyful hope for a someday-again baptism.

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  30. How wonderful! I am most excited about the Khrisma scent… with another baby due at the beginning of December and her upcoming baptism, I’m looking forward to prolonging that amazing “newly baptized” scent! 😉

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  35. We just had a baby baptized this weekend and the priest hardly put any chrism on her. I was so disappointed that you couldn’t really smell it. Khrisma would be my pick!

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  45. Chrism! It’s just invokes such warm cozy feelings. Rose geranium sounds so fresh. I keep seeing geranium scented products lately, I think I will have to give it a try.

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  54. I’d love the chrism scented one. Vividly remember how beautiful my boys’ heads smelled after baptism. Wow.

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  60. Ooooo! My first giveaway entry! I couldn’t resist now that I am famous because my face made it on your blog. 😉 I am super excited about the Khrisma scent! I can just rub some of that scent on the baby twins and bathe them about twice a year, haha.

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  61. I still remember the scent on my forehead from my confirmation. I didn’t wash my face that night but used my sleep mask as usual. The scent lingered for weeks perhaps months. When my baby was baptized, it brought back those memories. I think the Khrisma scent sounds wonderful!

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  65. We just baptized our 8th little one 3 weeks ago. I always get sad when I must bathe baby a week or so after baptism…I wish the chrism smell could last forever. I think I would enjoy the Khrisma balm.

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  71. Chrism scented: of course! My baby’s chrism scent has just finally worn off completely, so it’s the perfect time for some of this balm!

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  74. Chrism scented! Or any really. I have two little godchildren being born and baptized soon. What a great idea for a gift!

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  80. I can’t decide! I think Khrisma….but also Silent Night…it’s a super cute name for Christmas ideas plus my little one is very sensitive and is having a hard time sleeping:(

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  85. Really excited about the Krista scent, but would also love to try the Rose Geranium one too. I loved the smell of my baby Francis after he was baptised. It was truly special.

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  94. Toss up between Silent Night and Khrisma–Lavender is kind of my “signature scent,” but chrism just smells so good!

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  97. I think I’m most excited about the chrism scent, but I would love to have 3: chrism, silent night and unscented. Does that make me a balm hoarder??

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  100. I would love the χρῖσμα (couldn’t resist using the Greek they listed on the site)! Mm mm new Christian baby smell

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  116. Is there really any question about which one is most exciting? Chrism scented all-natural ALL THE WAY! But seriously, the current cd rash stick we use smells like oranges, which is nice, but rubbing his bum with a chrism-scented stick would be infinitely better. I can’t even handle it. Thanks for sharing this review with us!

    I love talking Baptism traditions. Sadly, I think my candle is packed away at my parents’ house somewhere (hoping to find it someday) and I doubt my husband knows where his is, either (we didn’t even know his baptism anniversary till recently). BUT, I have a bin for my baby boy’s baptismal memorabilia, so hopefully we can light his candle next year on his baptismaversary (love that you created that word!).

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  122. I am certain to love the Khrisma, but also Silent Night. Would it be weird to buy Khrisma for my mom for Christmas? She always carries on about how wonderful our newly-baptized children smell 🙂

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  126. Oh my goossshhhh! I love it! ANd of course, khrisma is my number one choice for wanting…but I think silent night sounds wonderful!

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  131. I would definitely want to try the Khrisma scent!! Our new baby is 6 weeks old now and I’m so excited about her upcoming baptism!

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  158. Just had my baby baptized on Sunday and I can’t smell the chrism anymore. I was looking forward to that smell! Would like the Khrisma.

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  161. “We don’t bath our kids much over here. They seem to be fine.” LOL! I’m so glad to see someone else say this in public. The chrism scent is certainly the most interesting idea, but a lavender-chamomile balm for bad days at work has its own appeal.

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  165. I’m with you on not bathing the baby for a week or so after baptism. I never wanted it to end – so that Khrisma scent would be amazing!

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  168. Hey, yeah, the rose geranium one sounds good to me!

    Really, chrism would be my favorite, but I can’t help but think we’d take some of the delightfulness out of the baptism smell if we could smell it all the time, you know? Like if you ate cake every day, birthday cake wouldn’t be a treat.. Anyway, anyway. THAT’S why I picked rose geranium ;] Maybe I’ll just order some, seems like a good deal!

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  184. Our baby is three weeks away from her baptism and I can’t wait to sit and sniff her chrism laden head for days afterwards. So I’d love to try out the chrism scented balm….I am so excited to see that it’s an Amazon prime item.

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  185. Our baby is three weeks away from her baptism and I can’t wait to sit and sniff her chrism laden head for days afterwards. So I’d love to try out the chrism scented balm.

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  200. Thanks for this! We celebrate their baptism anniversary too with Mass and afterwards aask the priest to give the child a special blessing. We do cake and a religious gift too! I love the idea of showing them photos of the baptism day and I have yet to make each of their baptism momento box, I am motivated now. As for the scents I love the idea of the Khrisma and Silent Night. Going to support them either way… thanks for the intro.

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  202. Chrism scent! Because I’m also in the camp of delaying baby baths FOREVER trying hopelessly to retain that holy scent!

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  204. I would have to choose the Khrisma scent first, although Silent Night sounds lovely, too! Thanks for the giveaway!

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  212. I am most excited about the Khrisma scent, because I have been obsessed with the smell of Sacred Chrism since I was 13 and a newly baptized convert. In the effort to branch out though, I am also thinking Silent Night would be a lovely addition to our bedtime ritual.

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  223. signed up! If I don’t win, I’ll use the code to get my niece-on-the-way a little something for her shower or Baptism!

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  224. ooooo Khrisma sounds great! How soothing to have that scent bring you back to some of the most important moments of your faith journey! But then again Flowers from Heaven brings to mind wonderful memories of my grandmother. I’ve actually smelled fresh roses around the anniversary of her passing, like she’s truly sending flowers from heaven! And obviously bringing St. Therese to mind as well. Who can choose!?

    Reply

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