Editing Ceremonial ship launching (section)

==Traditions==
===Ancient===
[[File:Van Bree-Le Friedland.jpg|thumb|French ship of the line [[French ship Friedland (1810)|''Friedland'']] being launched stern first on 2 May 1810 in [[Antwerp]]]] 
A [[Babylon]]ian narrative dating from the 3rd millennium BC describes the completion of a ship:<ref name="FAQ108"/>

<blockquote>
Openings to the water I stopped;<br>
I searched for cracks and the wanting parts I fixed:<br>
Three ''sari'' of bitumen I poured over the outside;<br>
To the gods I caused oxen to be sacrificed.<ref name="FAQ108"/>
</blockquote>

It is believed that ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans called on their gods to protect seamen.<ref name="frame01">{{cite news |last=Frame |first=Chris |date=17 April 2024 |title=Why are ships christened?|url=https://chrisframe.com.au/post/748097559812276224/why-are-ships-christened |work=Chris Frame Official (Maritime Historian) |location= |access-date=17 June 2024}}</ref> Favor was evoked from the monarch of the seas—[[Poseidon]] in [[Greek mythology]], [[Neptune (mythology)|Neptune]] in [[Roman mythology]]. Ship launching participants in ancient Greece wreathed their heads with olive branches, drank wine to honor the gods, and poured water on the new vessel as a symbol of blessing. Shrines were carried on board Greek and Roman ships, and this practice extended into the Middle Ages. The shrine was usually placed at the [[quarterdeck]], an area which continues to have special ceremonial significance.<ref name="FAQ108"/>

Different peoples and cultures shaped the religious ceremonies surrounding a ship launching. [[Jew]]s and [[Christianity|Christians]] customarily used wine and water as they called upon God to safeguard them at sea. Intercession of the saints and the blessing of the church were asked by Christians. Ship launchings in the [[Ottoman Empire]] were accompanied by prayers to [[Allah]], the sacrifice of sheep, and appropriate feasting.<ref name="FAQ108"/>

Chaplain Henry Teonge of Britain's [[Royal Navy]] left an interesting account of a warship launch, a "briganteen of 23 oars," by the [[Knights Hospitaller|Knights of Malta]] in 1675:<ref name="FAQ108"/>
<blockquote>
Two fryers and an attendant went into the vessel, and kneeling down prayed halfe an houre, and layd their hands on every mast, and other places of the vessel, and sprinkled her all over with holy water. Then they came out and hoysted a pendent to signify she was a man of war; then at once thrust her into the water.<ref name="FAQ108"/>
</blockquote>

===Early Modern Age===
[[File:Vue du Vaisseau du Roy le duc de Bourgogne btv1b8409221q.jpg|thumb|right|The side launch of French ship [[French ship Duc de Bourgogne (1751)|''Duc de Bourgogne'']] at [[Rochefort, Charente-Maritime|Rochefort]] on 20 October 1751.]]

The liturgical aspects of ship christenings, or baptisms, continued in [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] countries, while the [[Protestant Reformation|Reformation]] seems to have put a stop to them for a time in [[Protestantism|Protestant]] Europe. By the 17th century, for example, English launchings were secular affairs.  The christening party for the launch of the 64-gun ship of the line {{ship|English ship|Prince Royal|1610|2}} in 1610 included the [[Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales|Prince of Wales]] and famed naval constructor [[Phineas Pett]], who was master shipwright at the Woolwich yard. Pett described the proceedings:<ref name="FAQ108"/>

{{blockquote|
The noble Prince… accompanied with the Lord Admiral and the great lords, were on the [[poop deck|poop]], where the standing great gilt cup was ready filled with wine to name the ship SO soon as she had been afloat, according to ancient custom and ceremony performed at such times, and heaving the standing cup overboard.  His Highness then standing upon the poop with a selected company only, besides the trumpeters, with a great deal of expression of princely joy, and with the ceremony of drinking in the standing cup, threw all the wine forwards towards the half-deck, and solemnly calling her by name of the Prince Royal, the trumpets sounding the while, with many gracious words to me, gave the standing cup into my hands.<ref name="FAQ108"/>
}}

The "standing cup" was a large cup fashioned of precious metal. When the ship began to slide down the ways, the presiding official took a ceremonial sip of wine from the cup, and poured the rest on the deck or over the bow. Usually the cup was thrown overboard and belonged to the lucky retriever. As navies grew larger and launchings more frequent, economy dictated that the costly cup be caught in a net for reuse at other launchings. Late in 17th century Britain, the standing-cup ceremony was replaced by the practice of breaking a bottle across the bow.<ref name="FAQ108"/>