Harry's Christening

[Boolean]

> Caius Marcius wrote:
> 
> > Might a British 
> > family circa 1980 have held a "christening" without any 
> affiliation, 
> > involvement or belief in a church?

 davewitley replied:
> Yes, I think they would.  There is a phrase 'hatched, matched and 
> dispatched' to describe people's involvement with the (Anglican, = 
> Episcopalian in the USA) church, meaning their involvement is 
limited 
> to Christenings, weddings, and funerals.
> 
> I think, in fact, it would still hold true in 2004.  People who 
have 
> had no contact with a church still tend, I think, to want to get 
> married there and to have their babies 'done' there.

Now me:

Yes, this is definitely true. I went to my boyfriend's sister's 
wedding last weekend. She never, ever goes to church, not even for a 
christmas service, but for some reason decided that she absolutely 
*had* to get married in church, otherwise it wasn't 'proper'. A lot 
of people in this country (Britain) are like this, and will also have 
their children christened in church "just in case" (!) 

However, just as many people these days have a 'naming ceremony' or 
similar, which can be a civil ceremony, or just an informal party - 
something to welcome the new arrival. Nearly always one or two close 
friends are asked to be 'godparents', even though they might not be 
named as such, but will often be referred to as godparent, for want 
of a better expression.