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Baptism
The Baptism of a baby is an extremely important ceremony in the Greek Orthodox faith.
The rite not only marks the moment the child becomes a Christian but is also filled with traditional symbolism.
One of the most important roles in the ceremony is that of the koumbaros (godparent) and to be appointed as a koumbaros is to receive a great honor .
Traditionally the Baptism take place when the child is around 12 months old. The main participants in the ceremony are the priest, the koumbaros and the baby, the parents are really only observers.

During the ritual the naked child is immersed naked 3 times and a small lock of hair is cut from the child head. The female relatives then dress the child in a completely new outfit of cloths provided by the koumbaros.

In Greece, when naming a child, the parents give the first son the name of the paternal grandfather and the second the name of the maternal grandfather, the same applies to daughters.
At the end of the ceremony everybody receives a small gift of sugared almonds and everybody files past the parents and grandparents to kiss or shake hands. It is traditional to say to all of the family ‘May he live for you’.