Godmother is the name given to the figure of an individual of the women who commits to to care and protect something or someone, from the ritual of sponsorship.
Relationships between godmother and godchild (name given to the person who is sponsored) are common in the religious sphere. The main example is the call "godmother", that is, a woman who accompanies the child in the baptism ritual, committing herself to assist and help in the education of her godson, as if she were a "second maternal image" of the child.
In fact, etymologically, the term "godmother" has its origins in the Latin word mater, which means "mother" in the Portuguese translation. For this reason, the godmother is often considered a "second mother".
Popularly in Brazil, godmothers at baptism are also known by the diminutive form of "dinda".
Learn more about the meaning of dinda.
Within the Catholic religion, in addition to the presence of the godmother at baptism, there are still other witnesses of traditional Catholic rituals who also receive the designation of "godmothers", such as the "
confirmation godmother" and the "godmother of consecration".The figure of godmothers is not only present in religious traditions and rituals, but also in the legal field. The so-called "civil sponsorship" is when a person decides to support a minor without the need to adopt him. In this case, a "civil godmother" would be one who helps to care for a child, without the responsibility of an adoption.
Another image known in the popular imagination is the "Fairy Godmother", a very common character in fairy tale stories.
The fairy godmother is a magical being who protects and helps fulfill all the wishes of her protégé.
Maid of honor
THE Maid of honor it is a woman, chosen by the bride, who accompanies and serves as a witness to the marriage act.
The bridesmaids are present both at weddings performed within the Catholic religion, for example, as in the so-called "civil marriage", in this case they are officially called "witnesses".
Usually, bridesmaids are people close to the bride, such as friends or family.
In English, when the bridesmaid is single, it is called maid of honor, when she is married it is matron of honor. A group of bridesmaids is known as bridesmaids.
See also the meaning of godmother.
