Today was a very special day for me, today was the day I got baptized. That’s right, I had my ultimate ‘Charlotte’ moment and converted to being an Orthodox Christian to marry Daniel. Most people know I’m not a heavily religious person. I’d like to think that I’m more spiritual than religious, but this was important to Daniel and his family so I didn’t see the harm in building the connection. My baptism was held in the newly built Macedonian church in Malmö. Due to unforeseen events our Priest could not be present, so they had a Priest from Macedonia come in to take over his duties. So we had the real deal for my baptism.

I never realized what a major role the godparents have in the Macedonian culture. I may still have it wrong, but Daniel’s godparents will have a significant role in our wedding and in our future children’s lives as their children will become our children’s godparents. This is an age-old tradition and gets passed down through different generations. I’m learning so much about the Macedonian culture through these different experiences. I’m so thankful that Daniel has some awesome godparents and they are our age. So… my baptism is the first I’ve ever been to or experienced. My father is Buddhist and my mother is Catholic, but we were not a very religious household or at least they didn’t make us choose.

In the Orthodox church, our godfather has to hold candles as he is apart of the ceremony with me. I am stand next to him first in my street clothes then I have to change into this gorgeous white linen (can you sense the sarcasm?). The idea behind this is that all whom is not baptized is considered dirty and you need to be rid of them before you are cleansed hence the holy water bath. Thankfully, as an adult I didn’t have to get naked! LOL.

There were a series of things performed, but since the Priest was speaking in Macedonian I didn’t understand a thing. He poured holy water into a cylinder and had me step into it, there he washed my head with it. He also placed holy water or oils on my forehead, chin, each wrist and each foot. He also clipped a few strands of my hair which made me a bit nervous. My godfather and I had to do a little dance around the table and stopping to bow at each point… see the video (Baptism Video). It was such an interesting experience. At the end of the service, from what Daniel translated to me, he welcomed me to the church and blessed me with the knowledge that now God would guide me and take care of me.

At the end of the day, it was a beautiful ceremony with all the best intentions. I could see why people have faith and believe in something more than themselves. There is a sense of peace and calm in a church and although this doesn’t make me want to go every Sunday, this makes me definitely feel more connected to the Macedonian culture and my ultimate goal…closer to Daniel and his amazing family.