Figure 1.--This caninet card shows two unidentified brothers about 1900-05. They are doing their First Communion and Confirmation respectively. This and the candle suggests that the boys were Lutherans. The older rother doing his confirmation wears a double-breasted suit with a wing collar. The lottle brother wears a Fauntleroy blouse and small floppy bow. Both boys wear knee pants and long stockings. Thet are about 13 and 7 years old. The portrait was taken by Fleissner in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.

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.

First Communion

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.

Confirmation

We note a lot of images of American boys doing First Communion in the early 20th century, but we have very little information about the 19th century. We note boys doing First Communion, often but not always dressed in white. Often they wear blouses rather than suits. We also notice some what older boys dressed in dark suits, presumably they are doing their onfirmation. An example of a Catholic comformation about 1913 is Harold Crown. The avaiable portraits do not always indicate if the boys were Catholic or Protestant. We know at least some were Catholic because they are with younger boys doing First Communion. An example here is Cletus Hullen and Henry Oelschlagen about 1915. Details as to the age and nature of these ceremonies are not readily apparent. After Wotld War I, these confirmation portaits become less common, although we continue to note many First Communion images. Here I am not sure what the relative availability of photographic portraits means. We note an American confirmation in 1960. One American contributor to HBC recalls a rather touching confirmation suit his mother made for him because they did not have money for a new store-bought suit. This account also includes a great deal of useful information about the 1970s

Created: 11:20 PM 12/9/2009
Last updated: 11:20 PM 12/9/2009