I come from a part of the world where the Greek Orthodox religion is practiced. It is a Christian religion that contains many sacraments. One of the sacraments is baptism which is an important part in our lives. It is only performed once and all children have to get baptized in their early age of their birth. The ceremony takes place in order for people to get accepted and serve the kingdom of God. The act of baptism joins us with Christ, through the Holy spirit, and so we become identified with Christ.
             The word, "baptism" comes from the Greek word, "baptisma" which means to dip, in the sense of covering something entirely in water. Through the act of baptism, there are certain people that need to be involved. These people are the father, the mother, and the godfather/godmother. The priest and the godfather/godmother are the active participants during the ceremony. It has to be noted here that the godfather/godmother are Christians as well. Through the ceremony they become the spiritual parents of the child. At this time, the priest chants and prays for the child while the godfather/godmother holds the child in his/her arms and acts as a spokesman for the child (repeating after the priest). The child is immersed into the water three times, giving the name, and saying at the same time, "This servant of God is baptized in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit''. Mostly, the child's name is taken from a saint's in the Christian orthodox religion.
             The reason the child is immersed three times is because it symbolizes the three days that Christ was in the tomb. The dipping also indicates the washing away of sins and spiritual purification. The sacrament holds for about an hour and right afterwards they go to a tavern or kind a restaurant to celebrate it. At this point someone might be a little confused with the godfather/godmother role. Well, it is said to be as the child&a...