Taking a newborn baby in our arms is an experience that connects us with something miraculous, with the joy of the beginnings and all the potential and innocence that transmits a creature that has just arrived. In these moments of astonishment, our connection with the sacred, with something bigger than us.

Within this opening, in many families the desire to celebrate the arrival of that new being with some type of welcome ritual is awakened. However, in a context in which less and fewer people resonate with the traditional rites offered by the Church, such as religious baptisms, an important emptiness is created that connects us with the desire to meet with the people we love in significant times in life.

I still remember the first welcome ceremony in which I participated, next to the sea, the result of the desire of some close friends to celebrate the birth of his daughter with his family and nearby friendships. They decided to create a ritual with the help of a woman who is dedicated to guiding passage rituals. She invited us all to bring shells and stones to the ceremony, with which we write the name of this girl in the sand. He also asked us to write on paper a desire or a blessing for his life, that we read out loud and the parents kept in a special basket.

When my son Marc was born, with his father Jordi we felt this need to celebrate his arrival with a ritual that we created together, in the midst of the intensity of sleepless nights and adapting to the great change of being parents for the first time! In fact, these welcome rituals to the world are also a way of welcoming and integrating our new role, whether as a mother, father, grandfather, uncle, godmother …

We decided to ask two friends, my brother and Jordi’s sister to be Marcinos de Marc. In the ritual, each of them represented one of the four elements, and our son received the blessings of water, fire, air and earth through them. One of the most beautiful moments was when we went to Marc, so tiny, by the arms of each person in the circle, with this intention of welcoming the world, surrounded by mountains.

These experiences are recorded in a tender and deep way in the heart, and touch and transform each person present. It is beautiful, from the creativity and intimate listening of each family, to create a ritual that reflects their desires and values. And to be able to fill this void with a celebration that really makes sense.

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