Celebrating and Blessing up Mama’s
What is a Baby Blessing Ceremony?
12 years ago, I was invited to my very first Baby Blessing Ceremony. Although I had attended many Baby Showers, I had no idea what to expect at a Baby Blessing. It all sounded very intriguing and mysterious. This ceremony changed everything for me.
In lieu of presents we all brought a bead that we felt represented the mom to be, and flowers for her hair. We helped create a goddess crown of posies for her as she sat like royalty in a lambskin thrown. We soaked her feet in rose scented water. We sat in a circle and shared our stories, poems, prayers and blessings for Mama and her babe. We cried and laughed and took turns rubbing her sacred and sore feet. We sung traditional Blessingway songs and wove our wrists together with yarn, creating a circle of love, of support. We declared that we would be there for her in any way we could, as her devoted friends, as her village. Everyone left the circle breathing more fully, hearts open, eyes shiny. Connected.
A Baby Blessing, sometimes called a Mother Honoring Ceremony is a way to celebrate the pregnant mother and assist her in this powerful and life changing transition. It is a ritual that gives the mother’s friends and family and opportunity to express their love and support, and honor the multitude of changes that are taking place. It is a ritual for the Mother to be to feel and acknowledge just how truly surrounded by love she is and how connected she is to every mother before her. How often do we get that chance to openly and with reverence give and receive such love? It is a way to also honor the precious babe on the way and thank them for the gifts he or she will bestow.
The practice of ritualizing and celebrating pregnant mothers and new parents is an ancient one. Many of the practices we see in today’s baby blessings originate from indigenous and traditional cultures that recognized the vulnerability and reverence of becoming parents and bringing new life into this world.
Today, and even more so during a pandemic, there is a large amount of uncertainty as families prepare to give birth. Often times there is a level of anxiety or fear of what is to come. This is an opportunity for mom to relax into the mystery of giving life, and revere her as the goddess that she is! This is a time to remind her and surround her with a circle of sisters, so that she can lean into her journey and trust fully.
There is a magic that happens in the baby blessings I’ve participated in or led. Women of all different generations and backgrounds gather, and despite their differences they are bound together in a common love of the Mother. They may enter the ceremony nervous..especially if “they haven’t participated in this style of celebration. Yet, they always leave with huge smiles, and a softness. “Wow, my heart is so full, I’ve never experienced anything like that” Is a word for word quote from one of my last baby blessing participants.
We as a collective more than ever are craving true connection, and longing for a real community. Baby blessings are one way for us to experience this connection in real time and truly honor the magic of being fully alive, and bringing new life into the world.
