** boys first communion suit: unknown boy individual experiences








First Communion Suits: Unidentified Children (Brooklyn, New York, probably early 1920s)


Figure 1.-- Here we sees a group of American (Brooklyn) children doing their First Communion. We are not sure who the four children are or their relationship. The portrait is undated, but we would guess the early 1920s.

Here we see a group of American children from Brooklyn, New York doing their First Communion. We are not sure who the four children are or their relationship. The girls are dressed similarly, but the boys are dress quite differently. One boy wears a black suit white the other a white suit. The girls look to be sisters, but the boys dressed so differently do not seem to be brothers. That said, note that theirwhite bows are tied the same. We wonder if the boy was possibly doing his confirmation, but the sleeve ribbon was more common for First Communions. Another possibility is that the mother had the older children wait so that they could all do First Communion at the same time. Or perhaps they are cousins. Perhaps our Catholic readers will have some insights here. Note that the one boy's black suit could be worn after the First Communion celebratiin for many occassions. Note that the boy in white does not wear a suit, but rather a blouse and short pants. a The boy's white suit has fewer used after First Communion. The portrait illustrates the use of both dark suits and white outfits for First Communion. This included the long stockings the boys wear. All the children wear long stocklings, either white or black. The portrait is undated, but we would guess the early 1920s. The late 1910s is possible, but the early 1920s seems more likely to us. There are anumber of indicators here. The girl's hats are destinctive to the 1920s. The one boy's short pants suggest the 1920s rather than the 1910s. The one boy's white long stockings suggest the 1920s rather than the 1930s.

A HBC reader tells us, " Catholic services of confirmation require a bishop whereas first communions don't since they are just Masses that any priest could celebrate. I doubt that many churches would combine the two services although of course the confirmation service is usually embedded in a Mass. The two services (first communion and confirmation) are ordinarily different events since confirmation sometimes involved adults (converts) as well as older children. It would be unusual for a family to make its older children wait for first communion until a younger sibling was old enough to participate, but this is not impossible, of course. The Church would discourage this, I believe. I certainly agree with you that the date of the photograph must be the 1920s. And the shortness of the boys shorts and the length of his stockings suggests to me mid- or late 1920s rather than earlier. But I'm just guessing."






HBC






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Created: 6:20 PM 9/26/2004
Last edited: 6:02 PM 9/27/2004