Baptism

I took 75 photos! I've never done that before. That's either two-and-a-bit or three-and-a-bit rolls of film in olden days. Wow!

I have always thought this ritual to be really quite barbaric and certainly it reduced me to tears, but looking back through the stills I realise that it is a re-enactment of the trauma of birth.

The copper font contains warm water and anointing oil. Presumably to make the baby slippery and easier to drop.

Extras
Ritual
- The church is divided in two, women on the left, men on the right.
- Upstairs there is a gallery entirely populated by women, though men are welcome if they wish to be there.
- The men's side of the church has a side door for discretely leaving or arriving at random moments during the ceremony.
- Adonis, Manolis, Dimitris & Kostas, all fathers who have been through this themselves, never even enter the church.

Ceremony
- Papa Alekos makes absolutely certain that both parents and the proposed godfather do believe in father, son and holy ghost before they are even permitted entry to the church.
- A pious woman has been keeping herself extremely busy fetching and carrying water and tipping it in and out of the font until the temperature is perfect. I can only assume that one bucket was hot and the other cold otherwise her actions made absolutely no sense whatsoever.
- A dressing table is set with a whole new suit for the baby to wear once he has been baptised.
- Happily in his mother's arms and still in his heathen outfit he plays to the crowd in the gallery.

Styling
- Outside the church is set like a market with stalls of things to give away to guests. Mostly it is edible sugary treats but there are also little notebooks with stars on. No fridge magnets to be had at this one so I leave the gifts alone for others to take.