Why did the girls at first communion wear bridal clothing?

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I have to put my two cents in. A white dress and a wedding dress are not necessarily the same thing. Having seen many of these “get-ups” latley, I have to agree that they either look like mini brides which is inappropriate or they look like they are going to prom. a 7 or 8 year-old bride or prom queen is too JonBenet for me.

My parish has white albs that all First Communicants wear over ther clothes to hide the bride motiff. I toy with the idea in tow years to buy my daughter a pretty floral or truly simple white dress wear under the alb with either no head covering or a wreath of garland and baby’s breath.

I am surprised how many posts think the mini bride is cool. Obviously since they(almost) all dress this mine is a very minority opinion.
 
puzzleannie said:
in some cultures, Mexican for one, padrinos are the custom, in fact, the child’s baptismal godparents should be part of the sacramental preparation and certainly present at the Mass and celebration.
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In our parish, if the parents cannot receive with the first communicant for some reason (2 people get to come up with the first communicant), every effort is made for the padrino and madrina to accompany the first communicant to receive. Unfortunately, a lot can happen in 7 or 8 years, and sometimes the godparents can’t receive, either. We then try the grandparents, or a tia and tio.

But then, there are the pardinos and madrinas of the dress, the candle, the rosary, the veil, the suit, the armband bow, the missal…the party, the punchbowl, the bags of ice…They are not really godparents in the sense the Church means it, but they are more combination purchasing agents and “sponsors” of the first communicant.
 
scylla said:
In my case we are asked my mother to be a madrina(female padrino) and she bought the first communion dress, which resembles a bridal gown. It is white, fluffy and formal.

White to symbolize purity,
Fluffy because it is pretty and my daughter likes it,
Formal to show respect for the Blessed Sacrament.

With a small veil, as we veil holiness. Women are symbols of purity and in imitation of the Blessed Mother.

Many bridal dresses are similar just because of the same reasons.

In Christ,
Scylla
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And that is how it should be, when it’s done correctly.
genealogist said:
My parish has white albs that all First Communicants wear over ther clothes to hide the bride motiff. I toy with the idea in tow years to buy my daughter a pretty floral or truly simple white dress wear under the alb with either no head covering or a wreath of garland and baby’s breath.
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And if this works for you, that is wonderful. If you read my post above, it doesn’t always work with all families for cultural reasons.

I admit, there were some dresses at First Communion this past weekend were beyond the beyonds; I mean, one dress had a bustle (the little girl to whom it belonged looked lovely, just like the bride dolls that used to sit on girls’ beds, the kind that nobdoy dared to use for play).

We tried to stay traditional. The other little girls all wore floor-length dresses, so my granddaughters’ was floor-length as well. Her dress and a lot of others were simpler- and some were borrowed. I made my granddaughter’s veil from stuff at Hobby Lobby, as my veil took a left turn someplace and never came back to me; and my daughter refused to wear a veil (I tacked a small piece of tulle to a fancy ponytail holder).
 
You know what?

I think there’s some real money to be made and grief to be saved, if one of our Catholic publishing houses would put out a picture book or video of examples of commonly-worn clothing for Masses and Sacraments through the ages. Or even for the last 500 years.

See, I had no idea that dressing like a bride for First Communion didn’t go back to time immemorial – and yet, now that it’s thrashed out in the comment boxes, it’s obvious that it was a fad that started i in the 60’s and 70’s. (And since I was a kid in the 70’s, that’s time immemorial for me!)

Then there’s the hat/veil/headrail/mantilla thing.

There’s a real need for a Catholic fashion book, I’m telling you, so that we can have discussions from a position of knowledge instead of ignorance.
 
The bride thing started way before the 60s and 70s. I have pictures of my mother, my aunt and my grandmother in very fancy outfits with veils for 1st communion. Grandma’s was very elaborate, and I would guess it was about 1908. My mom was so tiny, hers was a large Christening gown. She was only about 5 and in first grade. My uncles pictures have them in suits with ribbons on the arm, a lot like my son’s picture from 1988.
 
this whole discussion about first communion garb relates much more to culture than to religion, although, like many cultural customs that affect popular piety, religious rationale can be devised to explain them. In a typical Sunday Mass with first communions here, for instance, you may see boys in white suits or even tuxes, and girls in elaborate floor length white dresses, purchased in Mexico (by the madrina), along with an elaborate gift set including a white armband, necktie, elaborately decorated candle, rosary, missal, scapular etc.

You will also see boys in simple white button down shirts and navy dress pants, girls in less ostentatious white dresses, some with veils, some without, some with flowers, fancy headbands or other hairpiece. You will see Filipina girls in elaborate ivory laced dresses, lace that appears to be handmade, obviously family heirlooms, with long veils and jeweled combs in the old Spanish fashion. Filipino boys will wear dress slacks and white batiste cotton shirts with long sleeves, with embroidery or cutwork designs. You will see this dress shirt at funerals, weddings and other special occasions as well.

We have had Indian girls in saris, Vietnamese in silk pajama-type outfits, elaborately embroidered and decorated. Just because it is not my culture and my memories, does not make it any less valid. We try, in the parishes, not to impose any rules and restrictions that are not mandated by canon law and respect for the Mass and sacraments. We have no prescription for communion dress other than it be clean, modest and suitable for Mass–no jeans, shorts, cut-offs, tank tops, flip-flops etc. Other parishes are more traditional and rigid and have a dress code for family and padrinos as well as for candidates, even prescribing where the clothes should be purchased.
 
Mintaka said:
You know what?

I think there’s some real money to be made and grief to be saved, if one of our Catholic publishing houses would put out a picture book or video of examples of commonly-worn clothing for Masses and Sacraments through the ages. Or even for the last 500 years.

See, I had no idea that dressing like a bride for First Communion didn’t go back to time immemorial – and yet, now that it’s thrashed out in the comment boxes, **it’s obvious that it was a fad that started i in the 60’s and 70’s. **(And since I was a kid in the 70’s, that’s time immemorial for me!)

Then there’s the hat/veil/headrail/mantilla thing.

There’s a real need for a Catholic fashion book, I’m telling you, so that we can have discussions from a position of knowledge instead of ignorance.
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I don’t really characterize it as dressing as a bride but my mom wore a white dress and veil in the 40s.

A fashion book could be interesting. It could include Mary dresses.
 
in my days as an archivist I often worked with photo collections of various churches, and first communion wear has varied over the years. 100 yrs ago in Cleveland, for instance, in an ethnic parish Slovenian, Italian etc. the garb was often old-country and traditional from that culture, and easilty identifiable as such. Older established Irish or German “generic” parishes may have the children wearing white dresses and veils, or what appear to be just simple school or Sunday dresses of varying colors and patterns, with hats, sometimes a school beanie or similar hat, with the boys in suits or knickers, shirts and ties, often with a white armband.

Whether or not a particular style of clothing was required may have depended on the relative affluence of the congregation, too. School uniforms, by the way, are not very common in group pictures until the 40s or later, and I have seen first communion classes from the 40s-50s all dressed in school uniforms, not white dresses. Also it was only 100 or so years ago that first communion was commonly at age 7-8, most older pictures show a confirmation/first communion class of older children, apparently 12-14 years old.
 
puzzleannie said:
in my days as an archivist I often worked with photo collections of various churches, and first communion wear has varied over the years. 100 yrs ago in Cleveland, for instance, in an ethnic parish Slovenian, Italian etc. the garb was often old-country and traditional from that culture, and easilty identifiable as such. Older established Irish or German “generic” parishes may have the children wearing white dresses and veils, or what appear to be just simple school or Sunday dresses of varying colors and patterns, with hats, sometimes a school beanie or similar hat, with the boys in suits or knickers, shirts and ties, often with a white armband.

Whether or not a particular style of clothing was required may have depended on the relative affluence of the congregation, too. School uniforms, by the way, are not very common in group pictures until the 40s or later, and I have seen first communion classes from the 40s-50s all dressed in school uniforms, not white dresses. Also it was only 100 or so years ago that first communion was commonly at age 7-8, most older pictures show a confirmation/first communion class of older children, apparently 12-14 years old.
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My parents made their First Communion in the 1940’s. My mother went to a Polish parish, wore an elaborate white dress, with lots of silk and lace, white gloves, and a veil with flowers. She looked like a little bride. I recently saw her studio taken first communion photograph with her family in it. We found the picture since we were going through stuff since she is moving. She had not seen the picture in over 40 years. I never saw it before.

My father went to a Czech parish. He wore a white suit and white tie for his First Communion. We saw his studio taken picture. He was also holding a prayer book and rosary in the photograph.

Neither of my parents wore school uniforms at Catholic school in the 1940’s. They also did not dress up like they did for First Communion. Their ordinary school clothes were dresses for girls and pants/shirt for boys, like the public school children depicted in the movie “A Christmas Story”.
 
mdgspencer said:
While visiting an out-of-town parish, we found that more than 20 children were having their first communion. The girls, about a dozen of them, were dressed as brides. My wife, who is from a country without this custom, was very surprised, and when she asked me why, I realized that I had never learned the actual reason for this. So I thought I would ask why here.
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I didn’t read through all the posts, so my apologies in advance if I’m repeating something that has already been mentioned. As a few others said, the white dresses and veils are not considered bridal wear. White is a sign of purity, not the sign of a bride. Now, I have seen some families go way over board and dress their little girls in floor-length white dresses with little trains, although the veils were always short. For my First Holy Communion, I wore a simple, white, eyelet summer dress with a veil that had a white flower wreath and tulle. I remember not liking my dress, because it didn’t look like my best friend’s which was all tulle and poofy, but when I take a look at my dress today, it actually was very pretty and appropriate for First Holy Communion. That said, I never thought of myself as being a bride that day. I really thought it was something “magical” (in the words of an 8-year-old), special and extremely important for God and as a Catholic.

In terms of white as a wedding dress. That tradition didn’t really start until Queen Victoria married Prince Albert in 1840. Before then and even afterwards, it was always the bride’s best dress which would be used for the bridal gown, since it would be something that she’d wear again for church or for special occasions.
 
P.S. My grandmother made her First Holy Communion in the 1930s. She wore a white dress. My uncles, father and aunt all wore white suits and dresses in the 1950s and 1960s for their First Holy Communion. Perhaps it depended on the diocese at the time? I don’t know what my mother wore, as she only has two pictures from her childhood - both prior to making her First Holy Communion. This has sparked my interest, though. I’ll have to ask her.
 
Sarabande said:
P.S. My grandmother made her First Holy Communion in the 1930s. She wore a white dress. My uncles, father and aunt all wore white suits and dresses in the 1950s and 1960s for their First Holy Communion. Perhaps it depended on the diocese at the time? I don’t know what my mother wore, as she only has two pictures from her childhood - both prior to making her First Holy Communion. This has sparked my interest, though. I’ll have to ask her.
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I don’t think it was the diocese. puzzleannie has seen historic photographs from the Diocese of Cleveland in the 1940’s, and she said that in many ethnic parishes at the time, the children wore clothing from their nationality for their first communion. My parents both went to ethnic parishes, but they wore clothing that was not traditional with their nationality. It must have been the parish, not the diocese, because my mother said that the other children wore similar clothing as she did.
 
My grandfather, bless his memory, wore a suit with knickers to his Confirmation/ First Communion in the late 1910s (I want to say 1919?). He had the white armband all done up in a bow.

My nearest Catholic female relative (my grandmother was Epsicopalian) wore a nice white dress (might have been pastel- these photos are sepia) and a combo hat/ veil thingie.

My husband’s father in the late 1920s wore his altar boy clothes- and they are ornate! It involves a cape, a surplice, and a cassock, all in white.

My husband’s family photos show a young woman about 15 or 16, but probably younger, in a veil with a simple long dress, dated about 1910, before they came to this country.
 
puzzleannie said:
in my days as an archivist I often worked with photo collections of various churches, and first communion wear has varied over the years. 100 yrs ago in Cleveland, for instance, in an ethnic parish Slovenian, Italian etc. the garb was often old-country and traditional from that culture, and easilty identifiable as such. Older established Irish or German “generic” parishes may have the children wearing white dresses and veils, or what appear to be just simple school or Sunday dresses of varying colors and patterns, with hats, sometimes a school beanie or similar hat, with the boys in suits or knickers, shirts and ties, often with a white armband.

Whether or not a particular style of clothing was required may have depended on the relative affluence of the congregation, too. School uniforms, by the way, are not very common in group pictures until the 40s or later, and I have seen first communion classes from the 40s-50s all dressed in school uniforms, not white dresses. Also it was only 100 or so years ago that first communion was commonly at age 7-8, most older pictures show a confirmation/first communion class of older children, apparently 12-14 years old.
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OutinChgoburbs said:
My grandfather, bless his memory, wore a suit with knickers to his Confirmation/ First Communion in the late 1910s (I want to say 1919?). He had the white armband all done up in a bow.

My nearest Catholic female relative (my grandmother was Epsicopalian) wore a nice white dress (might have been pastel- these photos are sepia) and a combo hat/ veil thingie.

My husband’s father in the late 1920s wore his altar boy clothes- and they are ornate! It involves a cape, a surplice, and a cassock, all in white.

My husband’s family photos show a young woman about 15 or 16, but probably younger, in a veil with a simple long dress, dated about 1910, before they came to this country.
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I would love to see some of these historic photos. I belong to a neighbourhood historical society.
 
My mother made her First Communion in 1945 and we have several photos of her. She wore a 3/4 length long-sleeved dress, quite simple in style, a short veil, white gloves, a white bag made from the same material as the dress, white ankle socks and white shoes.
For her confirmation she again wore a 3/4 length long-sleeved dress with a longer white white veil (waist length), white stockings and black shoes.
We have 1 studio picture of my grandmother making her communion around 1917. She wore a dress very similar to what my mother wore in 1945 but the sleeves were more puffy and she had long socks/stocking on. Her twin brother wore a dark suit with an eton collar and had a white armband. We can’t see his legs in the picture so I don’t know what kind of pants he wore.
Gearoidin
 
Jennifer_J said:
So, a quick question… is it okay for my daughter to use the bridal veil I wore for my wedding for her first communion veil?

Thanks 🙂
Jennifer
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when I came into the Church I had planned on the ceremony (Baptism, First Communion and Confirmation) at Easter with the rest of the RCIA class and followed the week after by Sacrament of Marriage, but I was struck suddenly with a double-pneumonia and got very ill and and so I was Emergency Baptized and the only thing I had available that was white was my wedding veil. So my wedding veil is also my baptism garment.
Ravyn
 
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