First Communion a ceremony in some Christian traditions during which a person of the church first receives the Eucharist. It is most common in many parts of the Latin tradition of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Church and Anglican Communion. In churches that celebrate a rite of First Communion separate from baptism or confirmation, it typically occurs between the ages of seven and thirteen, often acting as a rite of passage. In other denominations first communion ordinarily follows the reception of confirmation, which occurs at some point in adolescence or adulthood, while Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Christians first receive the sacrament of Holy Communion in infancy, along with Holy Baptism and Chrismation.
A Catholic girl receives First Communion in Hungary.
A little girl photographed for First Communion in Italy, c. 1919
Christian families often purchase cakes for their children on the day that they make their First Communion.
First Communion photo of a girl in Argentina, 1923
The Eucharist, also known as Holy Communion, Blessed Sacrament and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. Christians believe that the rite was instituted by Jesus at the Last Supper, the night before his crucifixion, giving his disciples bread and wine. Passages in the New Testament state that he commanded them to "do this in memory of me" while referring to the bread as "my body" and the cup of wine as "the blood of my covenant, which is poured out for many". According to the Synoptic Gospels this was at a Passover meal.
The Eucharist has been a key theme in the depictions of the Last Supper in Christian art, as in this 16th-century Juan de Juanes painting, after Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper.
A Kremikovtsi Monastery fresco (15th century) depicting the Last Supper celebrated by Jesus and his disciples. The early Christians too would have celebrated this meal to commemorate Jesus' death and subsequent resurrection.
Eucharistic window (1898–1900) by Józef Mehoffer
Christ with the Eucharist, Vicente Juan Masip, 16th century.