Does anyone know WHY its a tradition to give silver gifts at a christening?
Originally, the gift was supposed to be a silver cup, to represent Jesus’ last supper “Silver Chalice.” This was supposed to represent that the new baby was an empty soul, and the cup signified that they were going to fill it with purpose and goodness. Then the baby would grow up to be a good person. Which is of course, ridiculous, because the last supper was just some fishermen, carpenters, and day laborers, all of whom had not worked in three years, eating in a donated hotel room. They’d probably never seen silver in thier lives. At any rate, that antique catholic tradition was soon altered by the English (Silver tea sets were stylish) and the French (silver rattles) and other curruptions. The only thing that survived was the fact that the gift ought to be silver.
