What should I expect for a first holy communion celebration?

Question

My friend's daughter (8 years old) is taking her first holy communion next month. I was invited to attend the ceremony and a reception afterwards. I am not Catholic, but the family means a lot to me and I would like to attend. My questions are as follows:

What should I expect to see? Will it be strange? Lengthy?

What should I wear? (I am a male)

Am I expected to bring a gift? A card? Flowers?

What is an approriate congratulations for this? Am I expected to say something to her?

Is there anything else that might be helpful for me to know before I go?

Answer 1

yes it will be very strange, there will be monkeys and hula dancers. haha. jk

serious now:
its a regular mass. you come in. stand, pray,sit,read,stand,read the gospel(probably will be related to the communion), sit,kneel, then comes
BIG MOMENT-she'll recieve communion(she holds out her hand, gets a wafer-like thing, sips some wine, sits down.)

wear-something nice, not a tux, but maybe a jacket

gift-a card with maybe 20 dollars-have the card related to the communion, so its a holy card, not a bugs bunny card.

congrats- well not really, maybe just "congradulations"

helpful- well the mass is probably an hour long, if your not catholic or christian you probably wont understand whats going on, or know when to kneel/sit/stand. just follow the crowd.

and when the time comes to recieve communion, dont go up, politely sit back and let everyone else in the pew pass. dont worry, you'll only be alone for around a minute

AS FOR THE RECEPTION

read carefully

eat the food, have fun.

Answer 2

That's very nice that you want to be there because you are close to the family The Church part of it should be about an hour. It will be mostly a regular Catholic Mass maybe with a few songs sung by the kids, then each child processes to the front for the first Communion. Afterwards they'll probably hang around for a short bit to take pictures. I'd suggest wearing either a suit or at least a tie. If that's not possible, at the very least wear something that would be considered 'business casual.' No jeans, t-shirts etc. Most people will probably be wearing suits. For gifts, people usually give money or some religous gift. But I'd stick with the money since you don't know what else she's getting. The only congratulations necessary is just "congratulations!" or "you look so beautiful today!" I don't think you need to know anything else specifically except to just follow the others when they stand, sit, kneel etc. At a Catholic Mass, the congregants stand during the Gospel reading (to show honor to Jesus' words) as well as during the "Our Father" They will kneel out of respect during the "consecration" the moment that the communion wafer is turned into the body, blood, soul and divinity of Christ. After the Our Father, you'll be invited to shake hands with your neighbors to offer a sign of "peace." Most will say "peace be with you" as they shake.

Enjoy the day and don't be nervous about anything.

Answer 3

Dress nice. You can buy her a card maybe put some money in there $5-$10 Tell her congratulations. In mass there will be a part where people go up to receive Holy Communion which we catholic believe it's Jesus. Don't receive it nor drink the wine as you aren't Catholic. You should stay sitting down. For the most part it should be a little over an hour depending on the people receiving their sacraments. (My son's Holy Communion lasted 3 hours)

Answer 4

Wear a suit, or at least a coat and tie. It is a solemn occasion.
You will see young men in suits, and young ladies in white dresses, process down the aisle and receive a small, round piece of bread. Catholics believe this "host" has become the actual, no kidding, body of Christ. That is one of the reasons this event is SO special and meaningful. How many times in our lives can we actually touch Christ?!
A gift is not necessarily expected, but it is highly appreciated. Some bring cash, flowers, or a meaningful religious gift. If you are not Catholic, I'd stick to cash or flowers.

Congratulations for this is something like, "Congratulations!" This young lady is now considered no longer an infant in the Church. She is now considered culpable for her own sins and adult enough to know right from wrong. She is not yet an adult (comes with Confirmation...usually 13-14 years old), but she is no longer "just a child."
You are not expected to say anything, but just say what comes to mind. This is a very important milestone in a young Catholic's life.

Helpful knowledge:
1) This is a sacrament, one of 7 for the Catholic faith. She already underwent Baptism and Penance (confession).
2) Only those who undergo this sacrament are allowed (by tradition...not rigoriously enforced) to receive Communion. If you have not done this, please...out of respect for the family and the daughter...do not go to receive Communion.
3) Basic rule of thumb...stand when others stand, and sit when they sit. You do not have to kneel when they kneel, but you may wish to do so. If you don't kneel, just sit.

I hope this helps! Let me know if you have more questions.

Answer 5

OK the short and simply. Mass is one hour long, but will be longer depending on how many there is making there first Communion. The mass is strange. Lots of standing, singing,sitting and kneeling.

You should wear dress pants and dress shirt or jeans and polo shirt.I would buy a card for the girl and put five dollars in it. The parents love the card, the girl will love the money. Might want to tell the girl that she was pretty in her dress, but that's all you need to do. THE LAST THING, YOU ARE NOT EXPECTED TO RECEIVE COMMUNION.

Answer 6

What should I expect to see? Will it be strange? Lengthy?
First There will be nothing Strange. It might be at first but nothing major.

What should I wear? (I am a male)
You should wear the same cloths you wear to your Church.

Am I expected to bring a gift? A card? Flowers?
You are not expected to bring anything but a Card or flowers would be nice and make her feel good.

What is an appropriate congratulations for this? Am I expected to say something to her?
You can simply say you are proud of her. But you are not required to say anything.

Is there anything else that might be helpful for me to know before I go?
Just relax and go with the flow. God bless you and keep you.

Any other questions e-mail me.

Answer 7

Well, U will probably see a bunch of kids & adults acting like kids. There will the consumption of Adult Beverages & Soda Pop. Some will smoke & some will be Smokin!!!! The celebration is over a church ceremony that the child (after having had to attend class for the inculcation of Catholic Dogma) may or may not have any idea of its' meaning. The Catholics don't really teach much if anything on the "Personal Belief in Christ", much more they concentrate on their "Church" & how to be a good Catholic. If U are a Christian, I would dress casually, & as far as a gift, I would make it a card, Bible (not catholic) & literature that the young girl could understand containing the Truth & promoting her need for more than "Ceremony & Religion" in her life. One last thing, watch out for the Nuns hanging around the punch bowl!!! Lol John

Answer 8

Usually there will be many ppl getting this along with Baptisms. WIth small kids, I think they keep it to an hour, but you can call the Parish your attending and ask.

I'd recomend you wear a suit and tie; unless you don't own one ... then dress as nice as you can.

Gifts are nice but not necessary; however, you may want to check with the parents to be on the same page.

Congradulations - how ever the spirit moves you.

Read the link about first communion if you want to understand the significance of this Sacrement. (Should take about 10 minutes to read)

Answer 9

You won't see anything strange. Catholic masses are at least one hour long.

You should wear something nice like dress pants or a nice pair of khakis (no jeans, shorts, etc.), a dressy shirt and a tie.

It would be appropriate to bring a gift. Religious jewelry, crosses, bibles, money or flowers would be a good idea.

Answer 10

you could visit the two or the two its ok. in case you're actually not gentle in Church then basically visit the reception yet once you're then its a very cool ceremony to observe. What would desire to you anticipate? Sitting in a church looking at a toddler get carry of the Eucharist, some status, singing, kneeling that type of component. Its no longer something bizarre which would be going on :)