I tried to find out why baptisms are such a big deal in Mexico and found out that it is all because of tradition! It is not only the child’s entrance into the faith community but is also an opportunity to celebrate the family—in other words, it is an excuse for a fiesta! (party!)

Because the church would not confirm the arrangements until a few days before, only close family attended the actual baptism of Andrés Crosier. Both my son and daughter-in-law had to attend baptism classes and present their certificates of achievement to the priest. They also had to show the certificates of their own baptism and even though I searched for months, I simply could not locate Stephen’s, and finally had to contact the LCH for a letter of acknowledgement, which Pastor Jeff was happy to oblige.

Even though the short ceremony was all in Spanish, it was easy enough to follow along. At one point it was obvious when all were saying the Lord’s Prayer, but of course my Spanish isn’t quite that far along in order for me to participate.

Just as in Hawaii for weddings, it seems like the focus of the day was the reception rather than the church ceremony. I could see that the party was not only to celebrate Andrés’ baptism but also to introduce Stephen to Jessica’s friends and family, since they only had a civil wedding three years ago rather than a church wedding.

We got to the party venue about 1:00 pm to decorate and set up, the guests started arriving about 2:00 pm, and the party did not end until well after 10:00 pm!

The Hawaiian shortbread cookies and chocolate macadamia candy I brought from Hawaii were a huge hit and were devoured in a matter of minutes!

In addition to the snack table, there was also a taco station which included pork, chicken and beef for tacos and quesadillas. We also had corn on the cob, brushed with mayonnaise, cheese and chili. As you can see below, I passed on the chili!

What was a little weird was that when the people in the neighborhood were seeing that we were having a party, vendors showed up uninvited to sell their wares! I took a picture of a girl selling cotton candy.

The real hero of the day, though, was baby Andrés, who was sociable and smiling throughout, from 11:30 am, the time of the baptism, to the very end of the party after 10 pm. You see, he is naturally gregarious and loves people and aside from a few brief moments when he napped, he was a happy, happy baby, always alert and cheerful, I would guess that he was held by more than 50 different people throughout the day in a giant “Pass the baby!”

It was a great day for the Martinez, Palomar, Au and Crosier families!