Mixed Messages

In Europe, it is the season of the first communion. For card companies, this is one more opportunity to make a spot of dough. There are whole stands at the newsagent's devoted to first communion cards now. Whether they deliver the kind of message first communioners might be expecting, I really do not know:

My favourite - what has a googly eyed puppy in a pink ribbed cup got to do with initiation into the faith?

No idea what a light sabre has to do with Christianity

A snowman with a carrot for a nose welcomes you to the church family

Or a giraffe in a casquette

Congratulations, you are now super cool

The giraffe theme must have a significance that, as a non-Catholic, I don't know about - I'm sure giraffes were never mentioned in the bits of the Bible we were told about at Church of England school

I think this is the Disney version of Tinkerbell, in which case is the message, "Congrats on your first communion, but hey dude, do you actually believe in fairies?"

I suppose at least the idea of goodness and the idea of something beyond the earthly is being referred to here

Is this one intended for a boy or a girl - is it saying, "you're a hot chick now" or "you can now officially pull hot chicks"?

A cool dude, riding in the clouds

Now you can become a hot rod car driver? Or you'll receive an animated car as a free gift, along with eternal life?

Coming home late at night you see a lot of girls dressed like this by the side of the Bois de la Cambre end of Avenue Louise in Brussels, admittedly generally sans balloons

Noise cancelling headphones so you never ever have to listen to the priest droning on again?

This is the closest any of them get to spirituality, but even it is more sort of new-wave-hippy-whale-song in its drift than anything specifically to do with the Christian religion

I am mystified, but, as I believe religion's role is to acknowledge and bow down before mystery, perhaps that is exactly as it should be.