You are supposed to dip your fingers in the holy water and do the sign of the cross when you enter and leave the building. Those boys that sit up by the altar and help the priest are altar boys. Babies are baptised soon after birth so they can go to heaven instead of purgatory when they die. Baptism usually just involves putting some holy water on the head. I have seen churches with what looks like a spa with stairs so I guess some older people who convert are baptisd by immersion, but I've never seen it.
After baptism you receive your first confession. They do it when they are children, but I can't remember the age. When you confess your sins you sit or kneel in a dark room and talk to a priest through a window, and neither person can see the other. It's anonymous unless the priest happens to know you and recognizes your voice. Even if he does, he will not mention it to you or the congregation. The priest will give you your penance which can range from saying so many prayers to making amends for what you've done. There is no punishment or DF'ing for confessing your sins and I feel that it is a much more loving arrangement that encourages people to confess rather than discourages them due to fear of losing their family or friends over a mistake. The only stipulation is that you are supposed to complete your penance before you receive the eucharist (body/blood of Christ) again. There is no set amount of time you are supposed to wait between confessions. You could go everyday or go once every few decades.
After your first confession you receive your first communion, which is when you are allowed to start partaking of the bread and wine during mass. Again I don't remember the age but it's early teens or slightly before, maybe around the 6th grade or so. All Catholics that have gone through first communion and are not still completing a penance are allowed to participate as much as they want. Some people go to mass everyday and partake of the bread and wine everyday.
Other things of the Catholic church. Ash Wednesday which marks the start of lent. People go to mass and get ashes put on their head. Lent which is the 46 days leading up to Easter Sunday. You are supposed to give up something during lent, something that you enjoy so that it is a sacrifice. You aren't supposed to eat meat (fish is ok) on ash Wednesday or any Friday during lent. Palm Sunday is the Sunday before Easter and when they had out palm leaves to the congregation to commemorate Jesus's return to Jerusalem before his death. Good Friday is the Friday before Easter Sunday, commemorating Jesus's death. Stations of the cross where the priest walks around the church and mentions each station with a scripture is done on Fridays during lent, but some churches only do it on Good Friday. Easter celebrating Jesus' resurrection.
Advent that starts on the 4th Sunday before Christmas to help you prepare for the celebration of Jesus's birth. Nativity scenes and Christmas trees are commonly seen inside and outside of churches. There is almost always a midnight mass held at 12:00 AM on Christmas day to celebrate the birth of Jesus. There are also masses held throughout the day.
Catholics encourage higher education. Many of the Catholic high schools are competitive college prep schools offering many honors and AP courses, a variety of freshman, junior varsity, and varsity sports teams, and a fine arts and performing arts department. The high school I attended recently built a new, state of the art campus to replace the original 56 year old campus. I just looked at their stats for last year and they had 100% graduation with 96% of graduating seniors going straight into college. A far cry from most public schools and a huge difference from the JWs as far as college bound students go.
That's all I can remember off the top of my head. I haven't been in a Catholic church except for weddings and funerals in over a decade.
