As you all well know, a sweet sixteen is the American celebration of the passage into adulthood. I say American because these traditions exist in different cultures all over the world.
The Jewish tradition, for example, is the Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, which is celebrated at the age of thirteen for both boys and girls. This ritual recognizes that their new responsibility for following Jewish law and demonstrates their commitment to the Jewish faith. The celebration allows them to participate in religious ceremonies and in the minyan.
Another popular coming of age celebration is that of Hispanic origin: the Quinceañera. In this tradition, celebrated at the age of fifteen, a girl begins by renewing her baptismal vows in a special Mass and solidifies
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her commitment to her family and faith. The religious ceremony is followed by a grand reception party. This after-party is an expensive one as the parents must buy the flamboyant ball gown for their daughter, the venue, dancing lessons, as well as organize the girl’s court, the Court of Honor. This court usually consists of the special people in the Quinceañera’s life- friends, brothers, sisters, cousins, etc. A popular tradition during the celebration is the Changing of the Shoes. The father changes the girl’s flat shoes into high heels, which symbolizes her transformation from a young girl to a young lady. Another popular tradition is that of the Last Doll in which the girl will give a doll to a younger relative or friend to symbolize her leaving her childhood behind. Some of the lesser known rituals are celebrated in the exotic places of the world, such as the Bullet Ant Initiation of the Sateré-Mawé, one of the largest groups in the northern regions of the Amazonas. When the boys of the tribe turn thirteen, they must enter the jungle to find bullet ants used in the ceremony. A tribe leader then placates the ants by immersing them in an herbal solution. As soon as the ants stop moving, the leaders weave them into “gloves” with their stingers pointed upward . The ants will wake up about an hour later, furious. Thus, the ritual begins. Each boy is required to wear the gloves for ten minutes and will ultimately wear the gloves twenty times over the period of several months. This painful initiation is considered necessary in preparing the young boys for life and demonstrates their readiness for manhood. Other less known traditions include the Hamar Cow Jumping ritual of the Ethiopian faith and the Land Divers of the Vanautu.
A small tribe in Ethiopia, the Hamar tribe, has a rite of passage ritual called “Cow Jumping” or Ukulai Bula. Unlike other cultures’ rituals, the Hamar perform theirs at two milestone ages: eight and twenty. At the age of eight, boys begin to help the family to raise livestock. The age of twenty is when they are considered to become an adult. The ritual requires a boy to jump naked over a line of castrated cows four times to prove himself a man. The absence of clothing symbolizes the childhood that the boys are leaving behind. The coming of age tradition in Vanatau, land diving, is one of the most dangerous and fatal rituals in the world. Young boys prove their manhood by jumping off of a 98-foot-tall tower with a bungee-like vine tied to their ankles, which barely prevents them from hitting the ground. In contrast to other traditions, the Vanatau people perform this custom frequently. Starting at the age of seven or eight, boys begin jumping (from a smaller tower, of course). During their first dives, their mothers will hold an item from their childhood. After the boy has completed the jump, the object will be thrown away, symbolizing the end of childhood. To prove their manliness to the crowds, boys will jump from taller towers as they grow
older. It is obvious that in all of these traditions, there is a certain age that is celebrated as the age when an individual passes into maturity. As humans, we value the fact that one has become an adult, and we feel that the certain individual should be recognized for his/her hard work to get to this point in life. But what is an adult?
I shouldn’t have a quinceanera , what’s so important you turning fifteen having a huge party having a big dress , food , make-up , and hair done . every one turn fifteen and some people don’t make a huge party and go all out just for you turning a age , it’s not a big deal turning fifteen you still a teen you're not an adult yet , your still a kid.
The Quinceañera is a celebration in Latin America that is very comparable to our Sweet 16 celebration, also know as the fiesta de quince años. The origination of the word comes from the feminine term of fifteen-year-old in Spanish. The overall celebration marks the transition from childhood to becoming a young woman. In earlier times this celebration was meant to be a teaching point for young women to learn how to cook, weave, and the art of becoming a mother. Depending on the family specifically, some can carry a religious tone, and some can be more traditional and casual.
All Birthdays are important, but there is no other birthday that can over shadow a quinceañera. A quinceañera is more than just a birthday party; it is also a rite of passage, a religious occasion, and a celebration of heritage. My Fifteenth birthday will forever be frozen into my memory.
What is the specific teaching of the four day ceremony for puberty also known as the kinaalda in Navajo? When I was a little girl I did not have my own kinaalda, but I took part in it when I was young for my older sister had hers done. I never understood the full meaning of what the ceremony meant for a girl to transition into a lady. A kinaalda is when a girl takes part of the Navajo blessing way ceremony (Amrani. 1988. Web). The kinaalda translated into the “Puberty Ceremony” is considered interchangeable with both the girl and the ceremony (Amrani. 1988. Web). At this time, the young lady is not a child anymore. In the Navajo myth, changing women, who is identified as all living things on the earth’s surface, is the face for many women. She is used as a figure during the rite of passage when a girl turn into a lady (Amrani. 1988. Web). Even though it is a good way to bring everyone together and relive our tradition, there is more to a puberty ceremony than just changing into an adult, because there is a lot that goes on in the four day ceremony. It is in our tradition, and there is a meaning to why we change from adolescence to adulthood.
Do I even want to have a sweet sixteen? I’ve never seen myself as the quintessential “princess”, in a flowing dress and mile high tiara. I could just wait until my eighteenth, then I’d be considered an adult, at least in American society. Do I even want a Quinceanera? It revolves around the church so much it’s practically the sun and the earth. Besides, could I even have a Quinceanera? My family would have to travel all the way to Mexico.
A quinceanera celebrates a young lady’s fifteenth birthday. This celebration is very similar to the American’s Sweet Sixteen birthday celebration. It is an exciting celebration that all the young ladies love. Of course, it can not be a quinceanera unless you have a tiara, cross or medal, bible and rosary, and scepter! Every young lady needs a tiara and a scepter! However, those are not the only things that make a quinceanera. There are also other traditions that must take place.
What is a Quinceanera? A quinceanera is a traditional celebration for a girl turning 15. It is to celebrate her transformation from childhood to adulthood. This is usually celebrated by Latin Americans and among Latinos. In the Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central and South American traditions, the custom can be referred to as Quince Anos, a quinces, a Quinceanera, and Quinceanero or a Fiesta Rosa. This celebration is also to embrace religious customs, and the virtues of family and social responsibilities. These customs highlight God, family, friends, music, food, and dance. As for Americans we celebrate our Sweet 16th instead.
Adulthood has often been associated with independence. It serves as a turning point in life where one has to take responsibility for oneself and no longer being dependent on his or her family. Early adulthood, usually begins from late teens or early twenties and will last until the thirties (Santrock, 2013). Early adulthood revolves around changes and exploration while middle and late adulthood are more of stability. The transition from adolescence and adulthood differs among every individual. The onset of the transition is determined by many factors such as culture, family background, and the personality of the individual. Emerging adulthood (as cited in Santrock, 2014) is the term to describe the transition period from adolescence to adulthood.
There are many ways of celebrating coming of age ceremonies in different tribes or countries. Some are celebrating the strength or the maturity of the women. I chose to do the traditional Iria ceremony celebrated by the Okrika tribe. This practice is for them to come into the real world and coming out of your comfort zones. This coming of age ceremony is especially for girls at the age of 14-16. This ceremony is particularly for before weddings getting the girls prepared for the future. The festivities of this event isn’t fore taken to well with all the people. Many parents and children are to ‘civilized’ and think the idea is too much but the community believe it is ‘tradition.’ The practice is not performed the same in all parts of Nigeria. Some places it could be much stricter than others in which the people would be a little slack on the occasion. To the ceremony there are five parts to it which would last around six months. The reasons for this coming of age ceremony is to detach themselves from the water spirits in which they believe have a special relationship to the girls.
Every experience we go through will, in some way or another, help each of us to develop understanding. Coming of age is a life-long journey, but there are major events or experiences you can go through that will play an important part in become an adult. As time goes by, we will all experience trials, blessings, heartache, joy, and love; each of these periods in our lives will have an extraordinary impact upon who we become. These escapades, will enable us to come of age. The importance of coming of age develops from the experiences that create memories, teach life skills, and inspire character.
Adolescence is not cultural universal. In some societies, young children go straight from childhood to the adult life once they have done the necessary puberty rites. Puberty rites are formal ceremonies that mark the entrance of young people into the adult life. People at the age of 13 to 14 that completed these puberty rites can become accepted into the adult society.
Over the years, childhood has changed in many ways. With the invention of the printing press and the spread of a print culture, this culture became the causal agent of the rise of childhood. When the print culture was replaced with an electronic medium, it became the primary agent in the decline of childhood (Postman, 1994).
Teens is hard once it involves birthdays. They have to be the cool kid so you'd prefer to pick a subject matter that isn’t too infantile. Depending on the age of the juvenile, you start to urge into mixed gender birthdays. This is often jointly associate age where a celebration as home will not work so you’ll need to take into consideration achievable venues. Regardless of your challenges with adolescent birthdays, you will be ready to notice concepts for age-appropriate themes and party concepts to satisfy the toughest teens.
Traditional, we often think that it has to do with the past. In the past there have been and still are old civilizations which once where large in the world. In sociology, most traditional societies are related to the past events with an important role for custom and habit (Farooq, 2014). This type of societies does not like outsiders and does not have any political leaders. The only leaders they look up to are elders of the society to lead them. It is hard to communicate with these societies if one is an outsider. These type of societies tend to stick to their beliefs and traditional values of their culture. The population of traditional
The generation that I was born into can sometimes be easily misunderstood by those in earlier generations. The individuals in my generation get thrown many different labels such as those that Rosie Evans (n.d.) listed in her article, “Millennials, Generation Y, the Lost Generation, boomerang kids, the Peter Pan generation…” and more. This can impact us as a whole because some will begin to live by the labels, in some cases that can be negative but in others it may be beneficial. Many people in this generation believe that they can’t reach their full potential due to labels and prejudgment, while there are others believe nothing can hold them back. When we get labeled all together that is also what may drive some to try to stand out from the