of baptisms and fairy tales

For Marga Anacleto's baptism, her parents, Roslen and Mylah, selected four people to act as ninang (godmothers) to the ten-month old baby. They were Fe, Dara, Crystal, and me. Now, having four godmothers sounded awfully like the christening of Princess Aurora in Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty (1959)...

Fairy godmothers Flora and Fauna gave the child beauty and talent in singing. Merryweather was about to give her present when the evil witch, Maleficent, gate-crashed the party, upset that she wasn't invited to the festivities. As punishment for the royal snub, she said that the princess would prick her finger on a spinning wheel on her sixteenth birthday and die. In an effort to reverse this evil spell, Merryweather cast a counter spell that would make the princess fall asleep if she did prick her finger on her sixteenth birthday. True love's first kiss was the only way to wake her up.

(left to right): Fauna, Flora, and Merryweather (Photo from www.disney.wikia.com)
Maleficent (Photo from www.disney.wikia.com)

And so the story went: the princess was brought into hiding and given a new name to hide her ancestry. Maleficent's minions searched unsuccessfully for her for sixteen years; apart from the humble lifestyle the princess led, the minions were also looking for a baby the whole time. She made friends with the forest animals and eventually met Prince Phillip, the man betrothed to her since her christening. She was forbidden by the three fairies to see him again as she was to be returned to her parents later that day. Once in the castle, Maleficent made the princess prick herself on a spinning wheel; she fell asleep and the whole kingdom went to sleep along with her. Prince Phillip eventually battled Maleficent, with the help of the three fairies, and was able to save Princess Aurora. They then lived happily every after.

... in Marga's case, there was no Maleficent. Nobody barged through the doors of the chapel during the ceremony. The four ninangs are more like (I hope) Aurora's three fairy godmothers and the fairy godmother of Cinderella (in the Walt Disney 1950 animation).

Cinderella's fairy godmother (Photo from www.disney.wikia.com)

While we did bring along gifts and well wishes for Marga, none of us have wings, wear cloaks, or carry wands in real life.

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