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Ecomuseum of the Valleys of Àneu

Baptismal frock

The baptismal frock had a very high social value. Ecomuseum of the Valleys of Àneu.

 

The baptismal frock had a very high social value. Ecomuseum of the Valleys of Àneu.

 

Hanging by the window, visitors can see the baptismal frock which used to be handed down from generation to generation. It held a great deal of symbolic value, as it signified the continuity of the household: the more people of the same family who were baptised in the same frock, the older the house and the more prestige it enjoyed.

After birth, the mother was not allowed to leave the home. She was considered “impure” until she went to a special purification rite at the church, something which was done after the quarantine. She was therefore often unable to attend the baptism, which was held as soon as possible.

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