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Is this dress okay for holy communion? Is it even nice?

151 replies

ismydressugly · 23/02/2026 19:47

Bought this dress but now that it’s here, I don’t know if it’s okay for holy communion or if it’s even nice. Thoughts please?

Is this dress okay for holy communion? Is it even nice?
OP posts:
Thread gallery
6
midlifeattheoasis · 24/02/2026 12:22

It’s not nice

Tooearlyfortea · 24/02/2026 12:24

How usual is it for Protestants to have a First Holy Communion ceremony like your children did @Terser?
There does seem to be a lot of confusion on this thread 😅

sesquipedalian · 24/02/2026 12:28

OP, I’m sure it’s a very nice dress, but I would expect the mother of a child making their first communion to be a bit smarter than that. It also looks a little low-cut for church (but that may be because it’s on a hanger rather than a person).

Terser · 24/02/2026 12:39

Tooearlyfortea · 24/02/2026 12:24

How usual is it for Protestants to have a First Holy Communion ceremony like your children did @Terser?
There does seem to be a lot of confusion on this thread 😅

No idea about statistics/percentages across the whole range of "Protestants," or even within the C of E. It was considered normal in the church we were going to.

As I'm sure many people already know (although, having read this thread, I don't like to make the assumption that everyone knows!), there are many different Churches that are "Protestant." The Church of England is only one of them. There are also Baptists, Methodists, and many others. Each will have variations in their customs/services/exact beliefs. There may also be differences between the practices of individual churches within the same Church (if you see what I mean). So if you are confused by the varying personal experiences which people have posted on here, that may be why.

Tooearlyfortea · 24/02/2026 12:53

Yes I do know that already re the different churches thanks. Just wondering if you knew whether the practice of having a FHC was usual or unusual within those churches in the UK. (It seems many pp really aren’t at all familiar with it which was the reason I wondered.)

ladyamy · 24/02/2026 13:08

RampantIvy · 24/02/2026 08:34

The Church of England has communion services most Sundays.

Ah! Thats maybe why it’s passed me by.

BringonSpringnowplease · 24/02/2026 13:18

A lot of people wouldn't really describe the Church of England as Protestant - in terms of how it originated at least, the roots are different.

Rubyupbeat · 24/02/2026 13:20

I think it's much too casual for a guest at a first holy communion.
If its for your daughter which I doubt, then it should be all white.

cinquanta · 24/02/2026 13:25

Tooearlyfortea · 24/02/2026 12:24

How usual is it for Protestants to have a First Holy Communion ceremony like your children did @Terser?
There does seem to be a lot of confusion on this thread 😅

In the Anglican Church a big(ish) thing can be made of the Confirmation service. It’s not unusual to invite others to your confirmation but not everybody does.

That said, having attended Catholic first communion services myself, I wouldn’t say it was on the same level.

Theonlyfatmiddleagedwomannotonmonjaro · 24/02/2026 13:46

Church of England. First holy communion in my experience is called Confirmation. You cannot take Holy Communion if you have not been confirmed.
In my circumstances I had to attend Confirmation classes with our vicar before being confirmed. I had to be christened (i had been as a baby) in order to attend the classes. Then there is the offical Confirmation - like a First Holy Communion. Usually the Bishop runs the service. It is common to wear white if getting confirmed. Family dress up and there is some kind of party/function afterwards.

Obviously it varies. In general although a very special event for those involved i sense its a lower key event than First Communion in the Catholic Church.

Tooearlyfortea · 24/02/2026 13:54

The Catholic Church also has Confirmation ceremonies. Where I am (Ireland) FHC usually happens aged about 8 and Confirmation about 12. The Church of Ireland people I know had a Confirmation ceremony (in their teens) but not a FHC ceremony.

I’d choose a different dress OP. The one you’ve shown looks a bit casual perhaps.

Gonnagetgoingreturnsagain · 24/02/2026 13:59

BringonSpringnowplease · 24/02/2026 13:18

A lot of people wouldn't really describe the Church of England as Protestant - in terms of how it originated at least, the roots are different.

I’ve always seen them as interchangeable. However we didn’t do religion history until I was at least a teen.

C8H10N4O2 · 24/02/2026 14:17

corblimeyguvnr · 24/02/2026 11:11

When is the event?

Assuming the child is part of the annual cohort it will be one of the Sundays closest to Corpus Christi (the relevant feast day) which falls on 4th June this year.

It can be any time of year for an individual but the ubiquitous bunch of parish 6/7 year olds will be prepped for FHC masses which align with the feast.

ismydressugly · 24/02/2026 14:21

So it’s a spring holy communion in April so I thought it was spring-y. It looked lovely on the model (pic attached). We’re Catholic 😂 in Scotland. I’m nearly 30 and size 10/12. As I said I would be wearing a cardigan with it. But not after hearing everyone’s opinions 😂 think I might look at Phase 8 or similar.

Is this dress okay for holy communion? Is it even nice?
OP posts:
C8H10N4O2 · 24/02/2026 14:25

ismydressugly · 24/02/2026 14:21

So it’s a spring holy communion in April so I thought it was spring-y. It looked lovely on the model (pic attached). We’re Catholic 😂 in Scotland. I’m nearly 30 and size 10/12. As I said I would be wearing a cardigan with it. But not after hearing everyone’s opinions 😂 think I might look at Phase 8 or similar.

That is very close to Easter - local custom or is it an individual ceremony?

My main thought on end of April is that it can be mighty chilly!

ismydressugly · 24/02/2026 14:27

@C8H10N4O2it’s the last weekend of April, think it’s just a coincidence that it’s the same month ☺️ yes I’m expecting rain 😂

OP posts:
RampantIvy · 24/02/2026 15:11

Playingvideogames · 24/02/2026 09:17

You’ve hugely misunderstood.

In the Catholic Church, you cannot take communion until you have completed your ‘First Holy Communion’. This is a short course learning about the Bible and Sacraments, and the event itself is a celebration Mass where all the children receive communion for the first time and then celebrate with a party. It’s a specific event.

Our C of E church did this as well, so I haven't misunderstood at all.

RampantIvy · 24/02/2026 15:21

Playingvideogames · 24/02/2026 10:45

No, we’re saying they don’t do a First Holy Communion, which is a specific event. Not that they don’t take communion in general.

But some C of E churches do.

DD did at 6 then was confirmed at 13. I believe our local C of E church is what is called "high church".

luckylavender · 24/02/2026 15:24

Playingvideogames · 23/02/2026 20:49

Only RC do Holy Communion.

It isn’t quite suitable - too much cleavage/shoulder, and the colours are wrong.

A brightly coloured suit with heels would work better, otherwise something a bit more fitted/structured - what else do you have?

That’s not true

NoArmaniNoPunani · 24/02/2026 15:26

I was under the impression that the main difference between catholic communion and other denominations was the catholic belief in the transubstantiation whereas it's purely symbolic in other Christian churches.

GoGoSuperBug · 24/02/2026 16:27

I think it’s nice on the model, it might need a jacket rather than a cardigan though to smarten it up a little bit?

Terser · 24/02/2026 17:02

Tooearlyfortea · 24/02/2026 12:53

Yes I do know that already re the different churches thanks. Just wondering if you knew whether the practice of having a FHC was usual or unusual within those churches in the UK. (It seems many pp really aren’t at all familiar with it which was the reason I wondered.)

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that you personally weren't aware of all the different churches. I'm just concerned about the level of general knowledge of some posters/possible readers on the thread.

I don't honestly have much knowledge of what happens in other Protestant churches. Within the C of E (which is definitely a Protestant church, by the way - not sure why this point was queried by someone earlier!) then I know that FHC was standard in the church I went to when my kids were that age, and also the church my sister attended when her kids were that age (different area of the country, but also C of E). Most of my friends with kids in other areas don't go to church, so I don't really know how standard it is across other C of E churches, but it's definitely a thing.

One thing that strikes me is that when I was growing up, our church (C of E, but in yet another part of the country) didn't have a FHC until we were about 13 and had just been confirmed. It wasn't a separate event at a younger age. I think this was normal back then in the C of E. The idea was that you should have a mature understanding of the significance of communion, and have made your commitment to Christianity after going through the confirmation preparation classes, and THEN you could take communion. But now it's different, and a separate FHC has been introduced for the younger age group, who would need to have gone through some preparation classes but who are too young to be properly confirmed yet. Maybe they changed it because having a special event at a younger age helps to encourage kids to keep coming to church, and the C of E has a demographic problem with ageing congregations! So this may be yet another reason why people's experiences have differed.

No idea what happens in the non-C of E Protestant churches. Let alone the Orthodox churches! It's very hard (and a bit unwise) for me to generalise.

Gonnagetgoingreturnsagain · 24/02/2026 17:03

ismydressugly · 24/02/2026 14:21

So it’s a spring holy communion in April so I thought it was spring-y. It looked lovely on the model (pic attached). We’re Catholic 😂 in Scotland. I’m nearly 30 and size 10/12. As I said I would be wearing a cardigan with it. But not after hearing everyone’s opinions 😂 think I might look at Phase 8 or similar.

Nope sorry. It looks too summery and picnicky.

Brightlittlecanary · 24/02/2026 17:18

Gonnagetgoingreturnsagain · 24/02/2026 17:03

Nope sorry. It looks too summery and picnicky.

Yes it looks like a cheap day dress to be worn in the summer to a picnic or supermarket shopping

RampantIvy · 24/02/2026 17:20

Playingvideogames · 24/02/2026 10:00

I don’t get why a load of Anglicans/Protestants/whatever always turn up on Catholic threads to insist they know better? How is this relevant?

a) The OP didn't state that it was a Catholic holy communion
b) Protestants don't pretend to know better
c) I don’t get why a load of Catholics/whatever always turn up on religious threads to insist they know better
d) I don't get why some posters think that those of us whose DC have taken part in first holy communion in a C of E church are making it up

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