Baptism & Christening 101

ST. CLOUD, Minn. (AP) ―When Elisabeth Anne Huls was baptized over the weekend, she wore a white cotton gown that’s been in her family for 124 years.The gown and accompanying petticoat cost $10 for a seamstress to make back in 1883. Agnes Munz, Elisabeth’s great-great-great-grandmother, paid to have the dress made for the first of her four children.

Her investment paid off as 21 children — members of five generations — have worn it. Elisabeth, who was born Oct. 18, was the second in the fifth generation to wear the gown.

Marcia Huls, Elisabeth’s grandmother, said she expects the gown to be worn for future baptisms. Through the years, mother-of-pearl buttons on the back of it have remained intact, along with drawn thread work and embroidery.

Huls, who also wore the dress for her baptism, has cared for the dress for the past 15 years. It is washed before the ceremony, put on minutes beforehand and put away after the photos, she said.