Baptism is performed only by a priest and bishop, at least 8 days after birth and up to 40 days. Baptism can be officiated on any day, preferably on feast days, after the Holy Liturgy.
Through the sacrament of baptism, the child is baptized. The child is forgiven of his sins, the Original Sin, from Adam and Eve, who from the beginning broke the divine commandment. In addition to the forgiveness of sins, the one who is baptized also receives the gift of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the child can only be baptized once.
After the baptism, the godfather receives the newly baptized in a white cloth, which symbolizes the cleanliness and purity of the Kingdom of God. This is a clean white cloth, popularly called chrism, which comes from Christ. The priest then blesses the candle, the prayer for anointing with the Holy and Great Chrism is said, and then the actual chrism is performed – the seal of the Holy Spirit – on the forehead, eyes, nose, ears, mouth, chest, hands, feet and back (a gesture that symbolizes that God is also one of the body and that we must also take care of the body – but never let the body be above the soul). After the chrism, the priest – together with the godfather, who holds the child in his arms, and the godmother, who has the candle – makes three rounds around the table on which the Holy Gospel is located and next to which the baptismal font is located – the ritual symbolizes a game of joy. Then, the Epistle to the Romans of the Holy Apostle Paul and the Holy Gospel are read. The priest reads facing the guests, with the godfather/godmother in front of him, together with the newly baptized. It is practically the first service of the new believer. The prayer for the hair cutting follows – the baby is cut in the name of the Holy Trinity – a ritual that symbolizes the bodily entry into the ranks of the Church. After the cutting, another short prayer is said for the newly baptized, for the godfather and the guests. Thus, the newly baptized receives three Holy Sacraments at once: Baptism, Chrismation and Holy Communion.
Baptism in the Catholic Church differs from the Orthodox in that the baby is not immersed in water three times, that is, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, but is only sprinkled with holy water. Another difference is that in the Orthodox Church, the child also receives the sacrament of chrism at baptism and is given communion. In the Catholic Church, the child must be 12 years old to receive these sacraments. In the case of Catholic baptism, the godparents do not actually participate in the preparation of the little one, but they must answer the priest's questions related to faith in the Church. The baby is given directly to the mother. Sometimes the mother brings the baby already swaddled, the rules being no longer as strict as in Orthodox baptism.

responsibilities of godparents at baptism

First of all, the godfather must have the child's birth certificate, the parents' marriage certificate and the parents' certificates or ID cards at the church. Based on these documents, the international baptism certificate is issued. It shows the religious denomination (Orthodox, Catholic). This certificate is handed over by the priest to the godparents. Of course, the godparents will also be required to pay the church tax.
The candle symbolizes the light that is brought into the soul of the baptized person and is the obligation of the godfather. The custom says that the candle should be decorated, but not just any way. The flowers should be lily - the flower of the Mother of God, the bouquet should have fern leaves, so that the child will be strong, have "fir" - so that the child will be healthy like a fir tree, the fir tree from which the Cross of Jesus was made, have the flowers of the "bride's flower" so that there are no tied wreaths. The ribbon - the baptismal sash, is pink (red) for girls, blue for boys, it should be neither short - he will get married quickly, nor long - he will get married late. The godfathers will also prepare a piece of white cloth for the child's swaddling. Here, it is said that it must be an unsewn, unfinished cloth, because Jesus Christ was also swaddled this way, or if there is no other way, a towel or other material. The number three is symbolic in baptism: the priest immerses the child in water three times, there are three lit candles on the baptismal table, the swaddling cloth should be three meters long. After the baptism, the godparents must put a small silver cross around the baby's neck. The godmother is the one who takes care of swaddling the child, after which she can give it to the mother.
The godparents also give the child a set of clothes to wear after baptism – everything from head to toe will be new. The godparents must also buy a towel and soap, which are used by the priest to perform a ritual washing before the Holy Sacrament of Baptism. The towel and soap are also a kind of offering from the godparents to the priest.
When leaving the church, a bucket filled with water should be placed where the godmother and then the guests should put some coins or plastic paper and which at the end the mother takes and takes home, in front of the door. Another custom is for the child's godmother to pin to the lapels of those attending the service, crosses tied with the same color as the baptismal candle ribbon.
At the end of the religious event, the godparents will take the child and entrust him to the parents, saying three times: “You gave me a pagan, I brought you a Christian.” After that, everyone gathers for the baptism feast, where relatives and friends rejoice and celebrate the little Christian.
The day after the baptism, the godparents come to the godfather's house to bathe him. This is the moment when the baby is given the "bear bath". In the tub, a silver coin is placed to purify the water, basil, fragrant flowers, wheat, and the godmother wishes him: good luck, may he be beautiful, may his skin be as soft as rose petals and smell like flowers, may his speech be as sweet as honey, may he be healthy, rich, etc.
During the ritual, the baptismal candle must remain lit, and at the end it is extinguished on the ceiling or door frame. The candle is stripped of flowers and other wooden elements and stored in a dry and upright place. It is not good for it to bend or break. When the baby turns one year old, the candle must be lit and the godmother will put a few drops on the baby's hair that has been cut beforehand.

Parents' responsibilities at baptism

For the service, the child's parents must bring wine and oil to the church – for communion and chrism. And, if they want, they can bring (to the church), cakes and champagne. These are the responsibilities of the parents at the church; they will, however, organize the feast.
It should be noted that the baptism party can be organized on any day of the year, even during Lent - the church says that the baby does not choose when to come into the world, and therefore he should be baptized without any hesitation.
Parents who want to transform the boring ritual of baptism into an original, “fairytale” party can contact one of the many companies that rent ursitori. In general, the scenario is the same: three acting students, embodying three ursitori, as if taken from a Disney animated film, recite the wishes, according to a pre-established scenario. A unique show, especially for parents and guests. Although it seems an authentic element and not necessarily necessary, the party with ursitori is also preferred by parents with less hand-holding: after all, it is a unique event in the life of their child. It remains to be seen, however, to what extent these extravagant manifestations contradict the specifics of Romanian traditions.

organizing the party

Organizing a successful baptism requires careful planning and a lot of work. You may think that you will save money if you try to organize it yourself, but the time allocated to this activity would distract you from priority activities, from the attention that must be given to the newborn. Specialized companies can offer you a wide range of baptism invitations, testimonials, floral arrangements on tables and decorations in the church to make your child's baptism a special event. Floral arrangements can be customized depending on the theme of the event, from classic arrangements to fun arrangements with toys and figurines. Party balloons can also be personalized with the baby's photo or name.
Decorating the table and the baptism celebration room can involve several products such as: boxes for giving earrings or a bracelet at a baptism in church, or for keeping the lock of hair when cutting the moustache or for keeping the first tooth, figurines and musical carousels ideal for a baptism gift, rosettes, candlesticks and decorations for the festive table.
The baptismal font (the tub in which the child is bathed at baptism) can also be decorated with garlands of natural flowers, hanging from the side handles of the baptismal cauldron. Like the baptismal candle, the baptismal font will be made of the same colors: pink for girls and blue for boys, or combinations of two shades.
Very cute and representative, such as puppies, babies with cute faces, teddy bears, angels, pacifiers, slippers, bottles, the testimonials personalize the ceremony, representing a small and vivid memory that each guest takes with them when they leave the restaurant.
To decorate the baptism cake, you can make multicolored and diaphanous figurines, with lace, veils and other cute details. For little girls and boys, the cheerful figurines (robots, princesses, cars, teddy bears or other cartoon characters) that are indispensable on the baptism cake are small symbols of the rich and pleasant life that lies ahead for the young being.