The very First Communion is really a Catholic rite in which a young child receives Holy Communion for the first time. Apart from being able to receive Holy Communion, this ceremony is meant to symbolize the young faithful's first official encounter with the Holy Eucharist, which is the focus of Catholicism. Among the seven sacraments, the First Communion in addition serves as a pre-requisite to the sacrament of Confirmation, the third Sacrament which is thought to be as a perfection of Baptism being the first.
The ceremony of the First Communion is usually a very special event, especially for religious families and schools. Your children (while there is no age restriction for obtaining this Sacrament) usually wear special clothing, where the girls don a white dress with a veil to represent purity and the boys wear anything formal. In other cases, both girls and boys simply wear their school uniforms, but the girls always wear their veils. Often, a family party or feast is thrown after this ceremony as an easy way of expressing gratitude for a child having the opportunity to receive the Holy Eucharist.
Even though Holy Communion is a Sacrament for all Catholic faithfuls, not just anyone can receive it. It is essential of everyone, even children, that a confession have to first be made before a priest prior to becoming worthy of receiving the Eucharist. The Catholic religion mandates that an individual be 'without sin and in a state of grace' before being capable of receiving Holy Communion. This is the reason why children are made to confess their sins first before they are ready to engage in the First Communion ceremony. After the confession, there is going to be penance, which often consists of prayers that are to be said in order to erase or atone for the confessed sins or misdeeds.
Because the third of the seven Catholic Sacraments, a person, whether or not a child or an adult, cannot receive Holy Communion without first receiving the first, which is baptism. Yet even so, there are other requirements that have to be fulfilled. Receiving the Holy Eucharist for the very first time is certainly a special event for Catholics. It is not at all something that is received as part of a religious or academic schedule. In fact, children have to study it first in school, while those who do not attend Catholic institutions are required to undergo classes during weekends. Usually, schools focus on Holy Communion as part of their religious subjects for two years before students may be permitted to engage in a First Communion ceremony.