"We had a naming day for the kids! It was the first sunny day we’d had all summer." Photo: Getty We had a naming day for the kids! It was the first sunny day we’d had all summer. “You’re blessed with the weather!”, “Thank God it didn’t rain”, “Glorious day!” were some of the phrases bandied about at our non-denominational ceremony in the back of my mother’s house in Cork.
In the run up to the day — the very wet, very dull, very grim run up to the day — I found myself in a bit of a dilemma. Should I put out the child of Prague statue to try to coax some nice weather? But then I thought asking a Catholic saint to bless a decidedly non-religious event might just bring bad luck. So, I decided to rely on sheer optimism and a weather app.
The humanist minister had been in touch ahead of the event to get to know us and the kids, ensuring the ceremony was as personal as possible. She offered us a suite of rituals to choose from. We could have chosen a sand ceremony which involves each family member pouring different sand into a single container, symbolising the blending of lives and the creation of a new family unit.
We considered using sand from our local beach and the beaches close to both our family homes. Then I remembered that I have a real sensory issue with sand so we avoided it. Join the Irish Independent WhatsApp channel Stay up to date with all the latest news.
