In the words of Maria Montessori, ‘A child is the only point on which there converges from everyone a feeling of love and gentleness. People’s hearts soften and sweeten when one speaks of children. The whole of humankind shares in the deep emotions which they awaken. The child is a well-spring of love.’ The coming of a child into the world is worth celebrating!
For many parents who choose to live without religion, however, a traditional christening doesn’t feel an appropriate way of welcoming their child into their families. They often think that their children should be free to make their own choices about what they believe when they are older. It can also be uncomfortable to ask people to become godparents and make promises for the child’s spiritual development if they have no religious beliefs themselves.
Humanists, however, believe that, as human beings, we are born with the inherent desire and power to grow, to create, to love and to direct our own lives without recourse to religion. We celebrate the uniqueness of each child and we acknowledge the importance of a child’s physical, social, emotional, moral and intellectual growth: their all round development. Parents often feel more at ease with our holistic and more individual approach.
A Humanist naming ceremony is a positive one that reflects the interests and intentions of the parents and family. It is a personal and genuine ceremony, individually written especially for you and a joyful and meaningful celebration of welcome for any child.
You can choose to hold your ceremony anywhere you wish and many of our namings are conducted in a place that has significance for the family, often the family home. It is possible, of course, to gather outside if that is attractive or important to you. If you wish to have the ceremony conducted on a beach, on the moors, in a garden or even on a boat, then we can help make that possible for you.
What you want to say and do in your naming is of paramount importance and in this way the ceremony has sincerity and relevance. Many parents choose to make formal promises to their child and may ask friends or relatives to become ‘sponsors’, 'mentors', ‘guardians’ ‘parent friends’ or ‘guide parents’ and also make commitments. Most celebrants would encourage you to write these yourself. However, our ceremonies are co-created between the parents and the celebrant, who will write and conduct the ceremony, so you are never alone in your preparations.
All our celebrants are highly trained; They have a wealth of ideas and can give you sound advice about music, poetry and readings, symbolic acts and the structure of your naming ceremony. In addition, the BHA publish an excellent booklet called, ‘New Arrivals’ which can inspire you with wording for your ceremony, especially for the commitments.
A Humanist celebrant will be happy to use material drawn from a wide range of different sources and cultural backgrounds but our ceremonies are always essentially non-religious. However, your celebrant will understand that your guests may hold certain religious beliefs and will aim to acknowledge that and be inclusive. As such, a Humanist ceremony can be ideal for a family from mixed cultural or religious origin.
All in all, a Humanist naming will be the ceremony that you want. Your celebration, your choices. Please contact any of the celebrants listed on this website to discuss our naming ceremonies further, or contact the Administrator
To find your nearest celebrant click here
