Celebrating Spring…First Communions, Graduations, Weddings…

Rite of passage. Tradition. Celebration. Sacred. All of these words embody what First Communion means to me and my family.

My First Communion — like the celebrations for my two daughters — took place on a warm spring day at a church in Metuchen, New Jersey, with a reception at a well-known restaurant in Princeton. My First Communion was the first big event for our newly emigrated family. We moved to the U.S. for what was supposed to be a 2-year assignment, but stayed off and on for about 7 years.

In the 3rd year of our stay I celebrated my First Communion. When you are living in a foreign country you follow the traditions of that country. My communion would have been quite different back in England. I recall that I wore a short white dress from Saks 5th Avenue. I recall that we (the kids in my First Communion) sang Make Me a Channel of Your Peace and maybe Kumbaya(?)…but can we really have sung it? Maybe the song wasn’t as well known for self-help sappiness in the 70s as it is now? No clue what we ate at the reception.

My dad took a photo of the group outside the restaurant…I counted close to 50 people in the photo! Can you imagine an 8-year-old having that large a party? I do know that I received a ton of lovely cards and several checks — as a child I was absolutely flabbergasted that I had a significant amount of money to spend on toys and books. Communion Celebrations for my children are more low key. In England, it was not customary to give money to children as gifts.

My son will celebrate his big day next month. A special outfit. Save the date cards. Photos in front of a tree outside our home and at the church. A special portrait at Sears. A meal at our home for family and a few friends. However you celebrate a special event in your family, the fact that family are gathered will make it a celebration to remember.

The photos of my Communion are a mixture of old Kodak 124 films and Polaroids. And…moms of today will be horrified to learn…I only have a handful of photos from my First Communion…10 or so! I can easily take 10 photos of my feet! How about you? Do you take a ton of photos of family celebrations? I know I do. The kid in the pic above is my son. He’s hamming it up after the Manchester United Stadium Tour at my hometown team’s stadium…Old Trafford. It’s hard to believe that he is old enough to celebrate his First Communion.

Spring is here…baby showers…weddings…graduations…First Communions… How will you celebrate this spring? You’ll buy the special outfit. Charge the camera battery. Buy graduation announcements. Gather family together for the special occasion.

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