Just an old wive's tale?

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Jalima I had never heard of churching until my ( quite old) MIL asked me if I was going to do it, when she explained I was quite surprised.

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Opinions are presumably allowed on this thread

Opinions are allowed on any thread Jalima. What are actually trying to say?

We have moved on from many practices like churching., I so remember having to wear a hat to chapel and church, this came from St Paul who said women should cover their hair,my hsted those hats but in honesty always had a problem with old Paul, don't think he liked woman very much,but he did work with women ,

Yes, I think it was anniebach and there is still a C of E service although I don't know anyone who has been.

I mentioned Huguenots as a query really because my DM's family were originally.

I was churched after I had my first son.My auntie Edith was very religious. Her father had been a vicar at the local church. She would not come in the house until I had been churched, and as we were living in my parents house, I thought I ought to, just to be fair.
Can't remember a thing about it though.
It wasn't even mentioned when my second son was born two years later in Northumberland.

I questioned 'a slightly educated opinion ' not ' in my opinion' Jalima. I have no idea who were the first to practice it, I would think the Jews, it is from the Old Testament

Opinions are presumably allowed on this thread

I merely asked if anyone had heard of it and had been 'churched'. I have not heard of it for over 40 years and presumed it was something that may have been European and come over with the Huguenot side of my family.

A slightly educated opinion , ?

What did you actually think I was saying Maw?

You are perfectly entitled to your opinion GHMk2 but there is no evidence that it is any more educated than mine or any other on this thread.
Your divinity degree was taken when?
I merely quoted what you said to swanny and I am of the opinion that one may not necessarily be justified in judging modern practice by that which pertained over 50 years ago.

ggMk2 much of what you say regarding orthodox Jewish practice is of course true, but just because you say I have always regarded churching much as you do swanny and see it as an archaic practice etc etc etc does not make it so!!

You are wrong MawBroon. An archaic practice is one of an early period of art or culture. You, yourself said it was of not exactly modern times so I do not see what your problem is. I also said it was part of the C of E tradition and I think that has already been proved on here. So I did not "make that so" - it just is a fact.

I made it clear that it was my opinion although I like to think that in this area it is a slightly educated opinion. You really may not tell me I may not hold an opinion. You may put forward information to show that it isn't based on fact and, if you wish to debate whether the rest of the opinion I put forward that "that was one of the methods used by the church to keep women in their second-class place" I would find that interesting at some point.

Perhaps you should limit your exclamation marks to a time when you are on firmer ground and not telling someone they may not hold an opinion based on fact.

I did the ring thing over my 'bumps' with both my babies and they were correct each time - it even worked if someone else held the cotton!
I remember going to church with my mother after my sister was born in 1945, Mum had had a couple of miscarriages after I was born so my sister was a baby to thank God for. We walked to the church with my sister in the pram and Mum explained on the way where we were going. The vicar met us at the door - pram pushed in and parked near the font, Mum and I went into a pew and she knelt and the vicar said prayers.
I never went to be churched and always had a niggle about not going.

In answer to the OP, I had three healthy babies and used the same pram for each of them. It was certainly in the house before the first was born. I had never heard the crazy old wives' tale until today so there was never a problem. I doubt if I'd have taken any notice of it if I had been told. It belongs with the old idea of telling the sex of the baby by suspending a wedding ring over the bump to see which way it moves (but what about the old wife's tale of bad luck if you remove your wedding ring?) Try this: find a ring, earring or even a paper clip and tie a longish piece of thread to it. Hold the thread between finger and thumb with the ring suspended about 18" and decide which way you want it to move (clockwise, anti-clockwise, forwards and back or side to side). Hold it still and watch it while you apply your will to making it move. It will start moving the way you will it to. You can make it stop and then start it again in the opposite way. It's not magic or witchcraft. It's subconscious micromovements of the fingers, hand and arm. I learned it on a course I went on.

I always understood churching was to give thanks for the woman's safe deliverance from the travails of child birth, and even further back to bless the woman after the uncleanliness of birthing

Well said MawBroon

I disagree, it takes a strong person to go with it

I enjoyed the Church Times link but hang on a minute-look at the decade it was referring to! Look at the picture also ! 50's or what? Stuff which happened in the 50's was nearly 70years ago - not exactly modern times! It does place the "superstitious" attitude to "churching" firmly in the past. Look again at the title of the rite/service - the WHOLE one, not the colloquial abbreviation. And did you say your mum was born a few years after the end of WWI So very similar to my own mum, born in 1919. I dare say my granny tried to pass off her old wives tales as gospel to my mum but I expect the latter took little notice.
It is a truism to say the past is another country, and we should not pass off practices of our childhood or earlier as current today.
ggMk2 much of what you say regarding orthodox Jewish practice is of course true, but just because you say I have always regarded churching much as you do swanny and see it as an archaic practice etc etc etc does not make it so!!
Culturally there is of course an underlying practicality to many religious practices you can understand why the bleeding of menstruation was seen as "unclean " . Eating with the left hand is also regarded as "unclean" in some cultures, do we still regard left-handlers with suspicion?
The isolation of mums and babies did clearly protect them from infection at a vulnerable time in their lives, it also allowed peaceful breastfeeding, bonding and for the mum to be surrounded by her closest female relatives- the norm where childbirth was concerned, but I am detecting more than a smidgeon of "church bashing" just because some more primitive religious communities regarded something with suspicion, that must make everything church related wrong. Each to his or her own but do not be so eager to leap to the attack of those of us who were happy to give thanks for our baby's safe arrival in a religious context.

It is to some extent MOnica but any embedded religion will influence the people using it. If that is all you know you have to have a very strong personality to go against it. The only thing that will make any great difference is the education of women so that they can see the influence it is having and teach their children.

We are lucky as this is more historical for us but there are still areas of our life that is influenced because much of our society is based on our historical relationship with, mainly, Christianity. History doesn't show a great deal of kindness by male driven religions towards women.

Oooops, should have said God, the priest and me ?

Swanny, I was churched in 1969 and 1970, two different parts of Wales, no one spoke of purification, for me and the two,priests it was thanking God for a safe delivery and a healthy baby, 1970 the baby was rushed to hospital seven days old, very ill, the priest changed the words, we gave thanks for a safe delivery and prayed for the baby's healing. Both times were lovely services, no one in the church just the priest and me, it realy was special, gentle and peaceful.

Surely the ceremony means to the individual, what it means to the individual and all the claptrap around the ceremony needs to be seen for what it is claptrap unassociated with the ceremony.

Rather like all the discussions around Moslem women covering their heads or FMG, customs believed by many to be integral to the practice of their religion, perceived by others as cultural practices that have been added to the practice of the religion by individual cultural groups.

Swanny thanks for the link, really interesting read.

in the countries Laos and Cambodia mum and baby stay inside isolated for a month. This stems form the death rate for both mother and baby being extremely high in the first month. I believe that was how we were in time gone by, the blessing by any religion is for the safe keeping of mum and baby. Of course we have moved on, well most of have and the so called traddition will die out in time. In Laos and Cambodia we can only hope for better health care.