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First Communion was a particularly important event in the lives of many immigrant American families, especially Irish and Italian communities. New suits were often purchased for the occasion. Sometimes but not always the suits were white symbolizing the purity of the children. It was much more common to buy white dresses for the girls than white suits for the boys. Irish and Italian mothers were more likely to insist on white suits. The suits through the 1940s were often short pants suits, but since the 1940s they are more likely to be white. The purchase of a new suit, especially a white suit, just for first communion has gradually passed out of fashion, cost being the primary factor especially as a white suit has few other uses. Now boys in many places simply wear white shirts. Girls still often are outfitted in dresses purchased just for the occassion. A Maerican reader has des described his experiences as an altar boy. We note a candle compamy in 1915 that put altar boys on their promptional calandars.
There are two ceremonies that are of particular importance in the lives of Christian children. The first is First Communion. The second is confirmation. Baptism might be considered a third such event, but the childre being baptised are infants not really aware of what was happening. The importance and ceremonies involved vary among the different Christian denominations. Catholics give special emphasis to First Communion. Lutherans give great importance to confirmation. Other denominations vary substantially. The age at which these two events are celebrated has also varied over time and among the different denominations. And there are differences as to how the children dress for these events.
Serving as an altar boy was an important experience in the life of many Catholic boys. This is primarily a Catholic experience, although some Protestant churches such as the Anglicans (Episcopalians) also have altar noys. America was settled as a Protestant country. There were some Catholics in Maryland, but America in the early 19th century was a predominantly Protestant countrfy. Many disident Protestant groups came to America, but relatively few Catholics. It was not until the Irish Potato Famine (1840s) that large number of Catlholics came to America. The numbers increasded in the late 19th century with the arrival of Italians and eastern Europeans such as the Poles. Many of these immigrants settled in the rising American industyrial cities. We do not have any images of American altar boys from the mid-19th century. We do have some from the late 19th and turn of the 20th century. There seems to have been awide range of vestment styles worn by the boys. Some boys wear very elegant surplioces while others wear very simple garments. We do not have much information on actual altar boy experiences. An American reader has described his experiences as an altar boy. We note a candle compamy in 1915 that put altar boys on their promotional calandars.
Images of people attending church over time provide a fascinating look at how people dressed up. People tended to put on their best clothes to attend church. The rerm in the early 20th century was Sunday go to meeting clothes. Thus photographs of church goers over time provide a goos idea as to how people dressedup at time. Here it is helpful to know when the photograph was taken, where it was taken, and the religious denomination. Al these factors affected the clothing that the children wore ti church. The season of course was also a factor. The religious denomination to some extent had social class connotations. Anglicans (Espiscopalians) had the most upper-class members. Fundamentalist Protestanct scets were often low-income people. The same is true of Catholic churches in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as many were new immigrants.
We are not yet sure about the historical development of Sunday schools. One author dates the first Sunday school to Britain about 1790. I am not at all sure this predated developments in northern Germany and other Protestant sttes on the continent. The subject is somewhat complicated by the fact that many early schools were founded and supported by churches rather than states. This was the case in America during te early colonial era. Sunday schools became increasingly important in the 19th century with the development of public schools in America. As churches lost control of schools, sunday schools became the medium by which the various denominations educated children in the dogma of the faith. They also provided activities to attract and hold the interest of children. Sunday schools not inly had an educational purpose, but they were a way of providing "constructive" activities for children on Sunday. As far as we can tell, sunday schools were especially important for Protesants because Bible reading and study was much more important in Protestant denominations than the Catholic Church. In addition Catholics after they began arriving in large numbes in the 1840s (at first mostly Irish), set up their own school system with religious instruction part of the curriculum. There was a Protestant influence in early public schools, but this was limited by theological differences among the major denominations. By the late 19th century the Sunday School movement was a major American institution.
Religion played a major role in the founding and early history of the United States. There were two major traditions. The first was the Church of England or Anglican (Episcopal) Church which was set up at Jamestown (1607) and dominated the southern colonies. The second was the Puritans that arrived on the Mayflower (1620) and other discenter groups which dominated the early northern colonies. The Puritans and other discenters did not believe in religious freedom, they simply objected to the dominance of the establisheded Church of England. As American developed more diversity was injected into the American relgious mosacic. The British annexedd the Dutch and Swedish colonies which introduced Calvanist and Luthern strains of Protestantism. The Great Awakening was an important part of the evolution of religious thought in Colonial America. The Scotts-Irish which settled the backwoods of American rejected the established Church and played an important role in the victory of the Colonials in the American Revolution. The rejection od establish religions was inshirined in the Bill of Rights. Germans with strong Lutheran leanings were the principal immigrant group in the early 19th century. While America's religion was diverse it was mostly Protestant with a few Catholics (mostly in Maryland) and Jews (mostly Germans). This changed with the Irish fleeing the Potato Famine on the 1840s. The Irish were the first destinct national group which came in large numbers. Their poverty and Catholcism shocked many Americans. After the Civil War, the influx of Catholics from southern Europe and Jews and Orthodox Christians from Eastern Europe further diversified American religions. Since the 1960s, changes in the immigration laws have increased the immigration from non-Christian countries making Islam and Hinduism a part of America's religious diversity.
The United States has a greater number of religious groups than any other country in the world. While many new religions have been added to the American religious mix, most of the American religions are Christian primarily Protestant. America was founded by Christians and the ethos of the country is strongly Protestant Christianity. For years the Roman Catholic in Europe prrserved tge unity of the Church with the primary exception of the Great schism with Eastern Orthodoxy. Heretics were burned and Crusades were waged against groups like the Cathars. Priests explained theology to the faithful who not encouraged to read the Bible or ask questions. The Bible was kept in Latin which prevented most people from reading the Bible if they wanted to do so. This all chaznged with the Reformation. Luthur asked a lot of questions, although he did not like others questuiioning his answers. He did, however, strongly encourage the individual to read the Bible and translated the Boble into German. Other translations followed in vernacular languages. And with Bible reading, many different denominations appeared. Protestants were not at first much more tolerant thsn Catholics, only so many Protestant dernominations were founded that there proved to be no option to toleration. The American churches developed around the Protestant Puritantism of the Massachuseets Bay Colony and the Anglicancism of the Virginia. Over time other denominations were established in Anmerica brought by subsequent English settlers and continental immigrants, especially from Germany. And Catholcism became important beginning with the Pitato Famine and large-scale Irish immigrartion. Immigration from southhern Europe added more Catholics as well as other Eastern European dominations. Jews entered America in large numbers for the first time. Evangelicas significantly increased the number of denomimations, founding often quite small churches. Immigration reform opened American to non European religions like Budhism, Hinduism, and Islam. It also opened the way for expanded immogration from Mexico and thge rest of Latin America who were mostly Catholic.
American wedding are joyous occasions, celebrating the bond between two individuals. In more traditional socities weddings also were important events building bonds between families, but in modern America this has become less common in modern America. American wedding traditions are primarily English with strong religious influences. There were in fact two basic threads based around the two original colonies. Beginning at Jamestown, established Anglican traditions became important. Further north the Puritans at Massachisetts Bay Colony believed in simpler more austere weddings. Gradually wedding trafitions evolved. Here a major factor was arrical of non-Wnglish immigrants. Even before the Revolutionary War there were non-English immigrants and influences, including immigrants from Germany, the Netherlands, Scotland, and other countries. Each of these immigrant groups brought their cultural and wedding traditions with them. The most important development in the American wedding was the Victorian Era in Washington during which many popular wedding traditions were fused with traditional practices. The austere Puritan ceremonies declined in popularity. The 19th century also brought increased European immigrantion. The Mecxican-American War also brouht many Mexicans with their Catholic Spanish traditions into the American wedding mix. Along with Christian European immigrants, large numbers of Jews with their destinctive wedding traditions arrived. And in the late-20th century we begin to see Buddhist, Hindu,and Muslim influences. As a result, the modern American wedding can be quite varied, depending on the indivisuals ethnic amd religious background. Amnd of course the increasing secularization of American society has also affected the wedding ceremony. Some of the major American traditional include the bridal shower, bachelor party, the veil and wedding dress, flower girls and riung bearer, kissing the bride, the wedding cake, and the honeymoon.
Traditional funerals like wedding ceremonoes Within the United States are mostly religious services. And unil relatively modern times were almost all religious ceremonies. Mormally there are three elments: visitation, funeral, and the burial service. ome are public services while other may be private ceremonies. section you will find information on all three subjects. American customs until the late-19th century were largely English and Chritian (Protestant) in charater, but the impact of immigration has introduced a much wider range of national and religious influences. Many other nationalities and relgious can have very differnt traditioms. Irish wakes for example were seen as scabdalous to many Protesrabt anericns. Funerals in contrast to hoe they are comminly preceived are for the surb=vivors and not the deceased. It provides a way of saying goodbye to a loved ones. And funerl ceremonies give family and friends the opportunity to remember their loved one and offer each other love and support. Often children, in contrast to weddings are excluded from the ceremonies. Modern thinking is that they should be included in the griving process. Most experts now think that bereaved children should be included in the process. And it is now thought that even very young childrn can attend funeral services. Young children of course will not understand much of what is happening. And it will normally be their first such experience. They thus must be prepared for what the expoerience. And this includes the touvhu matter of not only what death is, but what dead bodies look and feel like.
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