Story: Clothes

First communion dress, 1930

First communion dress, 1930

These girls undertook the Catholic first communion at St Anne's Catholic Church in Manurewa, Auckland, around the 1930s. First communion is when an individual first receives the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist (the ceremony in which a person eats the bread and wine symbolising the body and blood of Christ). Girls wear white gowns and sometimes veils, while boys usually wear a white shirt, symbolising purity. 

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Auckland Libraries
Reference: Footprints 02986
Photograph by W. I. Sefton

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Photograph reproduced by courtesy of Raymond Peguero

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How to cite this page:

Fiona McKergow, 'Clothes - Clothing and identity', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/41166/first-communion-dress-1930 (accessed 19 April 2024)

Story by Fiona McKergow, published 5 Sep 2013