Latin America and Hispanic Culture

All cultures celebrate common life cycle events; such as birth, passage from childhood to adulthood, marriage and death. These are times of intense emotion and call for a significant celebration for those directly involved with the person experiencing the life cycle event. Most people appreciate some gesture of recognition that such an event has occurred. It is also an occasion for making positive connections with coworkers and friends, and teaches others about the various ways in which people approach and observe significant life events. In the Latin American and Hispanic culture, a major life cycle event is celebrated when a young girl turns fifteen years old; the celebration is called a quinceañera. In the Jewish culture, when a young girls turn twelve years old she becomes a “bat mitzvah” and is recognized as having the same rights as an adult. These two life-cycle events are major coming to age ceremonies that are celebrated within the cultures.
Quinceañera is the Spanish word for a girl who is fifteen years old. The word Quinceañera is derived from the Spanish word quince meaning fifteen and años meaning years. Although Quinceañera’s vary in different Hispanic cultures as well as from family to family, the meaning is always the same: the birthday girl is blooming into a young woman. Despite the tradition evolving with Latin American girls living in the United States, the Quinceañera celebration is very popular among third and fourth generation Hispanic girls, and is one of the few universal Latin American traditions celebrated from Mexico to Argentina.
Today, the celebration is often an elaborate party that may include a band, a feast and many guests (comparable to a wedding). Planning for Quinceañera’s can ...

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...t many Jewish people celebrate the occasion and have incorporated the same sorts of celebratory elements that are part of other life-cycle events. Just as a wedding ceremony is more important than the reception that follows, the Bat Mitzvah party is the celebration following the religious implications of becoming a Bat Mitzvah, and is most common among liberal Jews, but not as much among the Orthodox communities of Jewish people. Gifts are commonly given to the Bat Mitzvah (any time during the ceremony or celebration). Any present fit for a thirteen year old girl is acceptable, but cash is common as well. It has become tradition to many families to donate a portion of any monetary gift to the charity of the Bat Mitzvahs choice, with the remainder often being added to the child’s college fund or contributing to any further Jewish education programs she may attend