When I explain to people I meet here that I’m the godfather of my friend’s children, they don’t seem to understand, even though I do so in Chinese.
Me, my friend Malcolm, his mother-in-law and the little monsters (his daughters / my god-daughters)
One person asked me if I was Catholic or Protestant, and seemed to know that being a godfather has something to do with Christianity. I had trouble trying to explain it in Chinese, as I wasn’t entirely sure what being a godparent involved.
The Chinese translation of godfather I’ve been using is 教父 (jiàofù), however, few people seem familiar with this term. 教父 (jiàofù) is made up of 教 (jiào), which means to teach or class, and 父 (fù), which means father. I think 教 in this context might be an abbreviation of 教堂 (jiàotáng – church, chapel) [source]
Another Chinese translation for godfather is 代父 (dàifù) or ‘substitute father’.
According to TheFreeDictionary, a godfather is:
- A man who sponsors a person at baptism.
- One that has a relationship to another person or to something that is the equivalent of being a baptismal sponsor.
- The leader of an organized crime family.
According to Wikipedia:
Within Christianity, a godparent or sponsor is someone who bears witness to a child’s baptism (christening) and later is willing to help in their catechesis, as well as their lifelong spiritual formation. In both religious and civil views, a godparent tends to be an individual chosen by the parents to take an interest in the child’s upbringing and personal development, and to offer mentorship.
Apparently you can only be a godparent to one child, and as my god-daughters haven’t been baptised, I’m not, in a religious sense, their godfather yet.
When I was young I went to our local (Church of England) church with my parents, and was christened and confirmed there, and went to church-aided schools from 5-16. So technically, I am an Anglican Christian. However, I stopped going to church at the age of 16, and these days, only go to occasional weddings, funerals and Christmas services.
There is apparently a Chinese tradition of matching a child with a relative or family friend, who becomes the 义母/义父 (yìmǔ/yìfù) or ‘voluntary mother/father’, or the 干妈/干爹 (gānmā/gāndiē) or ‘dry mother/father’. These terms also mean adoptive mother or father, in the sense of traditional adoption, i.e. without legal ramifications. This is a non-religious tradition, usually involving a childless friend or relative, and helps strengthen ties between families.
Alternatively, a family friend might be known as 叔叔 (shūshu) – uncle, or 阿姨 (āyí) – aunt. Other words for uncle and aunt are available in Chinese [source].
To me, being a godparent means that you’re a good friend of the family, and get on well with their children. I spend quite a bit of time with my god-daughters and their parents, particularly recently as I’m currently staying with them. The little ones can be monsters at times, and angels at others, but I love them anyway.