15 Jun Time Capsules – all you need to know
A Time Capsule Ceremony Enhancement for our Celebrant led ceremonies; a one of a kind ceremonial ritual, unique to each family.
In April of 2022, an official Census of Population was recorded in Ireland. It included a new feature: The Time Capsule. This allowed us to add personal messages to the otherwise factual form, all set to remain private until 2122. The dedicated space will provide information for our descendants, for future generations and for historians.
“It’s the memory lane,
The memory lane that we all want to take.
I’m about to go back to the past man,
Back to the future’
Dreamer Dukes, Memory Lane
History
The Time Capsule goes back centuries with one of the world’s oldest still sitting atop Faneuil Hall in Boston, Massachusetts, in the form of a gold weathervane grasshopper. Around 1761 some dated artefacts were placed inside the 38 pound copper insect (itself dating from 1742). The first note inside described how the earthquake of 1755 had knocked it from its perch. Since then it has been stolen and returned, brought down for repairs, and coins and notes have been added.
The contents of this famed and gilded grasshopper have, through the years, many times been examined and restored.
Time Capsule Ceremony Enhancement
Less historical and more sentimental is the Time Capsule Ceremony Enhancement for our Celebrant led ceremonies, in particular the Naming Ceremony. This is a one of a kind ceremonial ritual, unique to each family. The gathering of ingredients for the baby time capsule vary according to the family’s wishes. The memory box ‘capsule’ can include some personal handwritten notes or video recordings, to be read or viewed by the ‘baby’ when they turn 18. The baby’s first onesie can be included along with a photograph of the first car that ferried the new born home from hospital. Newspaper clippings can decorate the box, other souvenir photos, train or bus timetables and tickets, stamps or coins.
When opened in the future, the hope is that the child and family will feel the love, inspiration, support and celebration from the Naming Day or Milestone Ceremony.
Baby Naming Ceremonies
A few weeks ago, I officiated a Naming Ceremony, celebrating a beautiful baby boy with his family and friends. The colourful box of memories was nestled between a storybook and some bunting heralding the chosen name. I added my Coastal Ceremonies business card to the cache of goods and information, scribbling a note to the future: “Greetings from 2022. Please send me an email from 2039.” I felt a bit like Marty in Back to the Future: ‘Tell me Doctor, where are we going this time? Is this the 50s? Or 1999?’ I think it might be time for some popcorn.
What now?
If the idea of a Time Capsule in your personal and intimate ceremony appeals to you, please get in touch, we would love to chat and help you create a ceremony unique and meaningful to you.
