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 …show more content…
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
So what it is Bar Mitzvah? According to The Oxford English Dictionary Bar Mitzvah is “the initiation ceremony of a Jewish boy who has reached the age of 13 and is regarded as ready to observe religious precepts and eligible to take part in public worship”. Of course this is a very vague explanation in terms of getting to the bottom of this ceremony’s significance. What is crucially important about both Bar and Bat Mitzvah is that this ceremony is absolutely essential for every Jewish person actually practicing the religion. As it was mentioned before, this ceremony is some sort of emancipation for Jewish children. Consequently, the way the ceremony was conducted has a very important meaning in the life of a child and his or her parents. Prior to Bar Mitzvah his parents were supposed to take under control their child’s cultural development. Every kid, by the age of 13 (or 12, which is the full-age for girls) supposed to ...
A quinceañera is an event that is celebrated worldwide. The term “quinceañera” means fifteenth years in English. It’s an extravagant birthday bash for a young lady turning the age of fifteen.”Celebrating my quince años meant beginning a life of a new adult. It has also given me much more responsibility for my own actions” (Xochitl Comparan, Victoria, Texas). This event is celebrated differently by many diverse cultures, and as time goes by some of the traditions change. Even though the traditions may alter, the whole point for this eventful activity stays the same. The point for this event is to recognize the young lady’s transition from childhood to womanhood. This is also known as “the coming of age.” On this one day, it’s all about the girl, nothing else matters! Organizing one of these events is a very expensive and lengthy process. It takes a lot of time and dedication. There’s a lot to be incorporated in the huge event; such as planning the ceremony, every decoration detail for the reception, all the traditions that must happen during the day, and most importantly to figure out who will be a part of this ritual.
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.
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.
All birthdays are special. Birthdays celebrate life and the passing of time. In a young Mexican girl life, there is no birthday more important then her quinceañera. The quinceañera is a celebration of a girl’s journey into womanhood. The story of my fifteenth birthday is contributed for a better understanding of how special it is to celebrate a girl’s transformation into a lady, and how it differs from any other birthday she celebrates.
The Latinos make up close to 16 percent of the total American population, thus becoming the 2nd largest ethnic community. Just like many other migrant populations, the Latinos seek to keep in touch with their Hispanic traditions and cultures. As Alvarez puts it, children born in the US are thus taught certain cultural events and values so as to maintain their lineage. The most common one as discussed by Alvarez in her book is the quinceañera. This refers to a girl’s celebration as she reaches fifteen. This day of celebration is supposed to mark a girl’s transition from being a child to an adult woman. Among other traditional symbols, these parties are huge and include choreographed dances and ball gowns.
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.
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
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.
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).
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