In almost all religions there is a special ceremony to welcome, usually infants and children, newcomers to their religion. This is a "rite of passage" if you will, and in most Christian traiditon this ceremony is called a baptism. I remember my baptism, because I was seven years old, and I remember my mother's baptism because I was seven at that time too and she was in her 30s. For most people though their baptism is something they will remember through photos and stories of their parents and older realtives that were there.
In the Roman Catholic Church to be a Catholic, and to be able to gain access to heaven you must be baptised, thus the reason for having this ritual preformed in infancy. Baptism is defined by the Roman Cathechism as "the scacrament of regeneration by water in the word." For most Christian traditions this definition of baptism is pretty acurate, though the wording may be different. Baptism is the first of the seven sacraments of the church that will be preformed. Before a Baptism is preformed the baptismal water is blessed and made holy. The usual form of baptsim is taking water and placing it on the child's head and making the sign of the cross. There are other forms of baptism and some include totally immersing the child in a tub of water. When this sacament is preformed in infancy the parents speak for the child. In most cases two other people are presant at the alter during a baptism with the parents, these are the godparents of the child being baptised. Along with the parents these people are also the "spritual gaurdians" of the child. In some countries if something were to happen to the parents of the child these people would raise him or her in their place.
*Although I was baptised, I am not Christian. I was too young to understand what was taking place or what it meant fully.
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