I’m not very religious at all, but when my brother and I were little we did belong to the local Presbyterian church, and every Sunday our parents attended a sermon while we went to Sunday school. Moreover, I’m not one of those people who claim to remember every incident of their lives, all the way back to birth–but surprisingly, I actually remember being baptized. I remember being held up by my parents, and the minister sprinkling a few drops of water on my forehead. I also remember not having a clue as to what all this was for. It’s possible I may be misremembering, so to speak, my age at the time. On the other hand, I remember that I was being held perfectly horizontally, the way one typically holds a young baby, suggesting I might have been lying in one of those things you carry babies around in–am I thinking of a bassinet?
We definitely weren’t the kind of household that talked about the gift of redemption or the spiritual significance of baptism; I think my parents just did the whole thing as a kind of moral training for us kids. Clearly nobody spoke about the baptism as a significant milestone in my life, and even in Sunday school they didn’t do that in the primary grades. At that level the lesson content was mostly Bible stories augmented with other tales about those who stood up for Christianity in more recent times. Absent was any mention of how Protestantism was different from Catholicism; OTOH given that this was the height of the Cold War there were stories about missionaries being persecuted in Red China, as it was called.
So…no heavy-duty spiritual stuff at all; yet I distinctly remember the baptism, which evidently occurred at a time when I had no use of language to speak of. Could it be the water that was a key aspect? Most of my other earliest childhood memories do involve water in one way or another.
So does anyone else remember their infant baptism?
I wasn’t aware the brain can form memories that young. I have to admit, I’m skeptical. I was at least two before I formed my first memory, and even then I don’t know how much of it was really remembered or just inferred.
I don’t remember mine. But I know I was not an infant. I remember seeing another kid getting baptized, and how he shook the water out of his hair and everyone laughing. I commented to my mother that when that happens to me, I’ll take out my comb and comb the water out. Hi-Larry-ous! My mother was not as amused.
I doubt if I was a year old yet. The Presbyterian denomination concerned is your average mainline Protestant type, so infant baptism is standard practice.
Now I’m curious; I may have to drive over there and ask to see the baptismal record.
I’m also a bit skeptical. It could be a dream you had when you were young, that you turned into a ‘memory’ as time went on. I had that happen to me. For years, I had a vivid ‘memory’ of going to see the pandas at the National Zoo when I was about two. I never really spoke about it but was convinced it was true. When I was in my teens, I finally mentioned it to my parents and they were like You’ve never even been to the national zoo, let alone seen the pandas.
I was maybe 4 or 5 and my grandparents on my father’s side (Catholics) apparently made some sort of a stink over it. What I vividly recalled is being petrified to get baptized. All I knew is that it sounded a lot like “hypnotized” and I didn’t want any of that shit.
I’m also always a bit skeptical when anyone has a memory from when they were really young. It’s super easy to conflate memories, whether from TV, or dreams, or stories heard from friends, or family stories about something they did when they were a child. For example, this study had people remember Bugs Bunny at Disneyland or Disney World, which is something that never would have happened.
Specific articulable memories before the age of 2 such as " I remember that I was being held perfectly horizontally" are not generally accepted and details such as “the minister sprinkling a few drops of water on my forehead.” seem very developed.
Further the OP not only" remembers" the events but his own thoughts and understanding of the event at the time: “I also remember not having a clue as to what all this was for.” Shows a pretty good understanding of self and the world around for less than 12 months -IOW contemporously questioning this event - what does it all mean? The above sensation we see as different from what the infant thought about other things happening in its life say an infant’s understanding of the meaning of being powdered and changed.
I was three, and quite loudly mad at my baptism, so I remember. My brother, though, had forgotten that he was my godfather, until I reminded him. He then said “Oh yea, you were quite loud ad obnoxious during the ceremony!”
I’ll have to withdraw the part about sprinkling water as I can’t remember exactly how the water was bestowed. But I remember the water on my forehead without a doubt.
When I say “I had no clue” I don’t mean I was actively questioning the meaning of faith or the existence of a deity; I mean I heard words and sentences but understood almost none of them.
I was ten or eleven when I was baptized, so I remember it quite well.
As for my earliest memory, well I remember a fair number of incidents from when I was two years old. I’m quite sure of this figure, since we moved into our new house a month or so before my third birthday.
Well, I remember my baptism, but I was about 4 years old at the time. There was apparently some conflict between the Jewish grandparents and the Catholic grandparents, and eventually the Catholic side won out. I remember being disappointed that my infant sister was held over the font and water poured over her head, while I was just left to stand on the ground and only got a little water dabbed on my forehead. Also, I remember the name of the church: St. Hedwig.
HEY! I dont know what this website is. But I too remember my baptism! I was just a baby when I was baptized. And i can remember that I was scared to death when my mother handed me over the priest. I thought the priest would take me away from my parents, so I cried and panicked. I tell people that I can remember the baptism, but they all think I’m making it up. So i searched it up on google, to see if it was possible, and I found this. I just made a quick account to say that haah! I’m not sure if you will see this though
People can relatively easily generate false or inaccurate memories they will believe and swear are true under torture. My earliest memory of which I am certain is boarding a plane when I was in my threes. My memory is pretty good, but not exceptional, possibly there are memory prodigies out there that can do better re earlier memories.
I also remember my baptism. I don’t know how old I was, my mother says 6 months to a year. It might have been a traumatic event for me because it was a traditional Orthodox baptism. For those who don’t know, a traditional Orthodox baptism involves completely submerging the baby in water three times in quick succession. You can look up videos, it’s pretty rough.
There are bits of the story I am not sure about because they may be partly or entirely fabricated. But there are two important bits that I feel quite certain of. First, I remember the shock of being completely submerged in water all of a sudden. Second, I remember seeing my parents watch it all happen without intervening, which was odd. This particular piece is what makes me doubt that the memory was fabricated because of how atypical it is.
You’ve never even been to the national zoo, let alone seen the pandas.