A day to remember

LINDA HALL

SPAIN’S a Catholic country, isn’t it?

As it happens, the Spanish Constitution of 1978 separated the state and the Church and that division is jealously guarded.

Constitution apart, even in the 60s a bottomless pit separated a large slice of the population and the Church. The more Republican and socialist ­ as my husband’s family were ­ the less likely to go to Mass or pay attention to doctrine, so as a lapsed Catholic I fitted in easily.

Nevertheless, we were married in church and there was no question of not christening our daughter when she was born. Nor was there any discussion regarding her First Communion because she had already made up her mind about that.

Children have fantastic First Communions in Spain, although I’m referring to the material and not the spiritual side of things.

When I made my own in England it was considered vulgar for girls to wear long dresses and the nuns tut ­ tutted at those who did (and there was always one who did). Veils and gloves, yes, but definitely no fripperies. It was a nice enough day but my lasting memory is of the dress which was made of stiff organdie and scratched horrendously.

Even in 2023 little Spanish girls (and their mothers) feel cheated if they don’t resemble miniature brides. In fact the bridal connection is so strong that First Communion frocks are sold in bridal shops at prices emulating the grown ­ up versions.

Boys make their First Communion less obtrusively than formerly, not like my husband who was done up in white silk like an abbreviated Ruritanian general despite his family’s anticlericalism.

Officially secular Spain now clings to customs that centre on the Church but don’t require commitment. If that means expensive clothes and sumptuous meals at weddings, christenings and First Communions, so much the betterspiritually if not financially ­ for those who otherwise don’t see the inside of a church from one year to the next.