By the time Joseff was a month old, Kristoff and Anna decided it was time for him to be christened, or baptized. Of course, they named Elsa as his godmother, and she would be his only godparent.
A party was scheduled to be held on the same day as the christening. The people of Arendelle and visitors from its neighboring kingdoms would arrive at the palace first, where Elsa would introduce them to the new prince. Then they would proceed to the chapel where Joseff's christening would take place. After that, the succeeding party would take place back at the palace.
The day for the baptism and party finally arrived on December 12th. As crowds of people gathered out in the village square, Anna and Kristoff were in their room, finishing getting ready with themselves and with Joseff. Both were dressed in their usual party attire, while Joseff was wearing a light blue and white bodysuit that babies were supposed to wear for a baptism. They also had a bonnet for him to wear as well, and he also had white socks on his tiny feet.
Once they were all dressed, the couple and their son went to find Elsa. The plan they had for when the guests arrived was for Elsa to come to the entrance hall in the castle where she would announce the names of her family. That would signal for Kristoff and Anna to walk into the room with Joseff and show him to the crowd.
They found Elsa waiting in the hall for them almost immediately after they walked out of their room. While Kristoff held Joseff in his arms, Anna rushed over to her big sister to give her a hug. Kristoff and Joseff joined them, and he gave Elsa a one armed hug, then Elsa bent down to kiss her nephew's head.
When they finally got downstairs, Elsa motioned to her family. "Stay right here," she told them. "I'll call on you very soon."
"Okay, Elsa," Anna, who was now holding Joseff, said, while Kristoff nodded. Before she walked away, Elsa once more gazed lovingly down at Joseff and stroked his face. He was awake, so he looked up at her and smiled widely.
Kai was waiting for the family, so when he saw Elsa, she nodded to him, which told him that she wanted him to announce her title to the guests now. As she waited off to the side, Kai made his way through the room to get some space, since by now, all of the guests were crowded inside of the entrance.
"Everyone!" he shouted. "May I have your attention, please?" Everyone turned in his direction, and the room immediately went silent. "Thank you, and welcome once more to Arendelle's palace." Gesturing with his left hand in Elsa's direction, he added, "And now everyone, Queen Elsa of Arendelle!" Everyone in the room immediately started clapping when the queen made her entrance.
Elsa walked slowly and punctually into the room and turned to face everyone once she had stopped walking. "Thank you, Kai. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you all for coming. It is always a happy occasion to celebrate the birth of a new baby in a family, especially when one is born into monarchy. And that's exactly what we want to present to you today." Like Kai did before her, Elsa gestured her left hand over to the side where Kristoff, Anna, and Joseff were waiting. "Everyone, I would like all of you to give a warm welcome to my sister, Princess Anna, my brother-in-law, Sir Kristoff Bjorgman, and their new son, my new nephew, Prince Joseff of Arendelle!"
Having heard their names announced, along with the accompanying applause, that cued Kristoff and Anna to make their entrance. Anna continued to hold Joseff, while Kristoff was beside her on her left side, with his hand on her shoulder. Almost immediately after they started walking in, the guests approached the couple, and they started talking amongst themselves and indirectly to the couple about their baby. Being the aunt, Elsa got some congratulatory comments of her own as well.
"Princess Anna, he is absolutely beautiful!"
"Sir Kristoff, he is very adorable!"
"Congratulations on your nephew, your Majesty!"
"You must be very proud of your sister, Queen Elsa!"
Amongst the chatter, at one point, Anna approached Elsa about her holding Joseff. Although she was initially hesitant, Elsa just remembered about how much she loved Joseff, so she smiled widely and gently grasped Joseff when Anna placed him in her arms.
The crowding around the royal family went on for almost twenty minutes when Elsa decided it was time proceed over to the chapel for Joseff's christening. She gave Joseff back to Anna and made her way out of the crowd so she could be seen. "Your attention, please?" she said loudly. "Since you have now seen the new prince, I would like for all of us to proceed over to the chapel for his christening."
Once Elsa finished speaking, all of the guests headed out of the castle and to the chapel. Before too long, only Elsa, Anna, Kristoff, and Joseff remained in the castle. Making sure there weren't so many people outside that would crowd them once they made their way outside, the family then headed over to the chapel themselves.
Over the next hour, a mass took place in Arendelle's chapel that eventually led up to Joseff's baptism. It included an opening hymn, the liturgy of the word, a responsorial psalm, and a gospel reading. Some time after the reading of the gospel, it was time for the actual baptism.
Elsa, Anna, and Kristoff stood in front of the baptismal font along with the bishop near the main part of the chapel's interior. The bishop started with the lines, "Is it your will that Prince Joseff should be baptized in the faith of the Church, which we have all professed with you?"
Kristoff, Anna, and Elsa all answered, "It is."
Then the bishop progressed to the actual baptism as he poured water onto Joseff's head while Anna held him over the font. "Prince Joseff, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."
Anna and Kristoff were especially concerned that Joseff would start crying and make a big fuss once the actual baptism occurred. But even as the bishop poured water on his head three times, Joseff never once made a sound.
When he was finished, the bishop continued, "God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ has freed you from sin, given you a new birth by water and the Holy Spirit, and welcomed you into his holy people. He now anoints you with the chrism of salvation. As Christ was anointed Priest, Prophet and King, so may you live always as a member of his body, sharing everlasting life."
"Amen," everyone in the chapel answered in union, including the family.
Afterwards, a few more readings and songs took place before the ceremony was finally about to end. The bishop announced the lines for the conclusion of the rite: "My dear friends, Prince Joseff has been reborn in baptism. He is now called a child of God, for so indeed he is.
In the name of this child, in the Spirit of our common childship, let us pray together in the words our Lord has given us."
Everyone in the chapel began with "Our Father," while the bishop continued, "May God the almighty Father, who filled the world with joy by giving us his only Son, bless this newly-baptized child. May he grow to be more fully like Jesus Christ, our Lord." This cued for everyone to finish by saying, "Amen."
The bishop then said the blessing of the parents. "May almighty God, who gives life on earth and in heaven, bless the parents, Princess Anna of Arendelle and Sir Kristoff Bjorgman. They thank God now for the gift he has given them. May they always show that gratitude in action by loving and caring for their child."
"Amen," everyone said in union.
The bishop concluded at last with the final blessing. "May almighty God, who has given us a new birth by water and the Holy Spirit, generously bless all of us who are his faithful children. May we always live as his people, and May God bless all here present with his peace.
"Amen."
The last step for the entire mass was the final hymn. Once that was over, everyone left the chapel and headed back to the palace for the scheduled after-party.
Yet again, thank you all for the feedback for the previous chapter! With this chapter, I picked up many of the lines from an actual baptism program I located online (though I don't remember exactly how to find it now). I don't know if the religion in Norway (which is the supposed setting of Arendelle) is Roman Catholicism, but that's what I chose for this, since I am a Catholic myself.
Moving on, I have one other drabble written for this miniseries so far, but I will write more. I want to write them in chronological order; in other words, the appropriate amount of time Joseff ages with each succeeding chapter. If I write them out of context, it will be hard for me to figure out where I am.
As to those of you who gave me suggestions for future chapters, here's what I have to say:
ThawMyFrozenHeart: I like this idea, but it may have to wait until Joseff is a little bit older. I don't think babies can walk so well by the time they are one (if some have learned to walk already).
Rapunzelx: This sounds cute. I will give it a shot! I also picture Anna and Elsa having individual bonding with Joseff, too. ;)
ElsaSnowflake99: Did you see my second chapter? I do want to write more about Joseff and Elsa bonding, and it will be in future stories, too. ;)
SonicXmen94: I don't know exactly where a park or beach would be in Arendelle, but I do want them to do an outing together, like a family picnic in the woods. ;)
Karts of Sugar Rush: That's a very good idea! However, maybe it could be when Joseff is a couple of months older. Olaf can't really hold a baby, and he can't take care of him if he so little at the point that he can't move just yet. But maybe when Joseff learns to sit up. ;)
If any of you or other readers have more ideas for future drabbles, don't hesitate to share them with me!
