Abstract
In Christian Europe baptism has traditionally occupied a central position in granting a child the right to live and accepting it into human society. It was not otherwise in Estonia. Though the ritual itself is short, lasting only a few minutes, it is of cardinal importance in shaping the fate of the child. The following is a short survey of how baptism has been interpreted in Estonian folk belief. Since baptism is closely connected with other issues such as choosing the name, specific features of the archaic rite of passage, relations between Christian and heathen features in Estonian folk belief, etc., these problems have also been dealt with. The article is to a great extent based on the collections of the Estonian Folklore Archives. Most of the beliefs analysed here were recorded between 1888 and 1940. (The abbreviation RKM refers to folklore recorded later.)
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