Sweet sixteen (birthday)

Last updated

A sweet sixteen is a coming-of-age party [1] celebrating one's 16th birthday, mainly celebrated in the United States and Canada. While they are not a legal adult, typically, when they turn 16 is when many people learn to drive, get jobs, and assume other adult responsibilities. For many, the 16th birthday celebrates adulthood and marks the end of a childhood. As the name suggests, the celebration takes place on a sixteenth birthday and is celebrated across all genders, though it is typically more common with girls. In the past, sweet sixteens tended to be formal, but they no longer tend to. [2]

Contents

Traditions

Shoe ceremony

For girls, the shoe ceremony is common at Quinceañeras parties. In this ceremony, the birthday girl sits in a chair while her father, grandfather, Godfather, Uncle, or brother approaches her, carrying a decorative pillow with high heels. The girl traditionally wore flat shoes, such as slippers, and the father ceremoniously helped her into her new high heels. This is symbolic of the girl transitioning into a woman. [3]

Tiara ceremony

The tiara ceremony is similar to the shoe ceremony, except the mother or a strong female figure approaches with a tiara instead of shoes and places it on her daughter's head to symbolize her becoming a woman. Sometimes, this is combined with the shoe ceremony so that two people approach the birthday girl, one with a pillow with high heels and the other with a pillow with a tiara. [3]

Candle-lighting ceremony

This tradition is common in Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, Quinceañeras, and sweet sixteens, although in different ages. There are typically 16 candles, each given to special family members and friends by the birthday girl. [4] Usually, when the recipient of the candle is named, the birthday girl says a few words in regards to why this person (or people) is special to them, they may tell a short story or fun memory they have shared with that person. The birthday girl can decide to give her candles to whomever she chooses. [5]

Other specific coming-of-age parties

like the United States, Similar celebrations are found in different cultures worldwide, some even brought to America.

Latin America

While it's thoroughly combined when living in the States, the most famous coming-of-age celebration is mainly the quinceañera, which is shared amongst the large Mexican American population from California to Florida, as well as within the other Hispanic communities throughout the country in Hispanic countries and Puerto Rico and the festa de debutantes in Brazil, both at 15 years of age.

Philippines

In the Philippines, the debut (pronounced de-boo) celebrates a young woman's 18th birthday. A young man may also celebrate his debut on his 21st birthday, albeit with less formal celebrations or none.

Japanese

Coming of Age Day at Atsuta Shrine (Nagoya). 2003-01-13 Coming of Age Day at Atsuta Shrine.jpg
Coming of Age Day at Atsuta Shrine (Nagoya).

Coming of Age Day (成人の日, Seijin no Hi) is a Japanese holiday held annually. It is held to congratulate and encourage all those who have reached or will reach maturity. Festivities include coming-of-age ceremonies (成人式, seijin-shiki) held at local and prefectural offices and after-parties among family and friends.

Judaism

In Conservative and Orthodox Judaism, girls reach maturity at the age of 12, celebrated with a bat mitzvah, and for boys (and girls, in the Reform movement) at the age of 13, with a bar mitzvah, or for both, with a B'nai mitzvah and both girls, with a b'not mitzvah. These are important dates in the Jewish culture because the young person is considered an adult following these ceremonies, bar or bat mitzvah.

Christianity

In many Christian denominations, both girls and boys reach spiritual maturity around the age of 13 or 14, with the Sacrament of Confirmation.

Like most coming-of-age events, sweet 16s are common on TV, in movies, music, books, and online. [6]

Music

Songs that talk about or represent sweet 16s.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Party</span> Gathering of invited guests

A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature food and beverages, and often conversation, music, dancing, or other forms of entertainment.

<i>Bar</i> and <i>bat mitzvah</i> Jewish coming of age rituals

A bar mitzvah (masc.), bat mitzvah (fem.), or b mitzvah, is a coming-of-age ritual in Judaism. According to Jewish law, before children reach a certain age, the parents are responsible for their child's actions. Once Jewish children reach that age, they are said to "become" b'nai mitzvah, at which point they begin to be held accountable for their own actions. Traditionally, the father of a bar or bat mitzvah offers thanks to God that he is no longer punished for his child's sins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coming of age</span> Young persons transition from childhood to adulthood

Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can be part of a ritual or spiritual event.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Birthday cake</span> Dessert served to celebrate a birthday

A birthday cake is a cake eaten as part of a birthday celebration. While there is no standard for birthday cakes, they are typically highly decorated layer cakes covered in frosting, often featuring birthday wishes and the celebrant's name. In many cultures, it is also customary to serve the birthday cake with small lit candles on top, especially in the case of a child's birthday. Variations include cupcakes, cake pops, pastries, and tarts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coming of Age Day</span> Public holiday in Japan

Coming of Age Day is a public holiday in Japan held annually on the second Monday of January under the Happy Monday System. It is held in order to congratulate and encourage all those who have already reached the age of maturity between April 2 of the previous year and April 1 of the current year, and to help them realise that they have become adults. Festivities include coming of age ceremonies held at local and prefectural offices, as well as after-parties among family and friends.

<i>Quinceañera</i> Celebration of a girls 15th birthday

A quinceañera is a celebration of a girl's 15th birthday that is common in Mexican and other Latin American cultures. The girl celebrating her 15th birthday is a quinceañera. In Latin America, the term quinceañera is reserved solely for the honoree; in English, primarily in the United States, the term is used to refer to the celebrations and honors surrounding the special occasion.

<i>My Super Sweet 16</i> MTV reality series

My Super Sweet 16 is an American reality television series documenting the lives of teenagers, usually in the United States, Canada and United Kingdom, generally with wealthy parents who throw lavish, excessive and expensive coming-of-age celebrations. Parties include the quinceañera, the sweet 16, and other birthdays including a My Super Sweet 21 and My Super Swag 18. The show aired on MTV from January 18, 2005, to September 11, 2017. The opening theme is "Sweet Sixteen" sung by Hilary Duff.

Hebrew school is Jewish education focusing on topics of Jewish history, learning the Hebrew language, and finally learning their Torah Portion, in preparation for the ceremony in Judaism of entering adulthood, known as a Bar or Bat Mitzvah. Hebrew school is usually taught in dedicated classrooms at a synagogue, under the instruction of a Hebrew teacher, and often receives support from the cantor for learning the ancient chanting of their Torah portion, and from the rabbi during their ceremony since they must read from a Torah scroll, which has no Hebrew vowels, and very close together text and minimal line spacing; making it very challenging for almost anyone to read from.

<i>Quinceañera</i> (film) 2006 film directed by Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland

Quinceañera is a 2006 American independent drama film written and directed by Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland. Set in Echo Park, Los Angeles, the film follows the lives of two young Mexican American cousins who become estranged from their families—Magdalena because of her unwed teenage pregnancy and Carlos because of his homosexuality—and are taken in by their elderly great-uncle Tomas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Party favor</span> Small gift given to the guests at a party or wedding reception

A party favor is a small gift given to the guests at a party as a gesture of thanks for their attendance, a memento of the occasion, or simply for fun.

There are many and varied customs associated with the celebration of birthdays around the world.

The following is a list of youth topics.

The debut is a traditional Filipino coming-of-age celebration which celebrates a young woman's 18th birthday, the age of maturity in the Philippines. Although also reaching legal maturity at 18, a Filipino man may mark his own debut on his 21st birthday, albeit with less formal celebrations or none at all.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bark Mitzvah</span> Jewish coming-of-age ceremony for a dog

A Bark Mitzvah is an observance and celebration of a dog's coming of age, like the Jewish traditional Bar Mitzvah and Bat Mitzvah. The term has been in use since at least as early as 1958 and Bark Mitzvahs are sometimes held as an adjunct to the festival of Purim for fun.

La quinceañera is a documentary film produced and directed by Adam Taub released in 2007. It was shot in Tijuana, Mexico and follows Ana Maria and her family as they prepare for and celebrate her quinceañera. The quinceañera or quince años is, in some Spanish-speaking regions of the Americas, a young woman's celebration of her fifteenth birthday, which is celebrated in a unique and different way from her other birthdays. The word is also used to refer to the young woman whose 15th birthday is being celebrated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Birthday</span> Anniversary of the birth of a person (or an institution)

A birthday is the anniversary of the birth of a person, or figuratively of an institution. Birthdays of people are celebrated in numerous cultures, often with birthday gifts, birthday cards, a birthday party, or a rite of passage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dance party</span> Social gathering at which people dance

A dance party is a social gathering where dancing is the primary activity. Some dance parties are held in a casual setting and open to the public, such as a rave, or those held in nightclubs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ritu Kala Samskaram</span> Hindu rite of passage for young female

Half sari function or Langa Voni Telugu: లంగా ఓణి, Pavadai Dhavani Tamil: பாவாடை தாவணி, Langa Davani Kannada: ಲಂಗ ದಾವಣಿ. In South Indian Hindu tradition, the Ritu Kala Samskara ceremony or Ritushuddhi is a ceremony performed when a girl wears a sari for the first time. It is the celebration of a girl's rite of passage after menarche or period, and she is deemed a young woman both physically and spiritually. Langa voni is traditional clothing for unmarried girls in South India.

An adult bar/bat mitzvah is a bar or bat mitzvah of a person older than the customary age. Traditionally, a bar or bat mitzvah occurs at age 13 for boys and 12 for girls. Many adult Jews who have never had a bar or bat mitzvah, however, may choose to have one later in life, and many who have had one at the traditional age choose to have a second. An adult bar or bat mitzvah can be held at any age after adulthood is reached and can be performed in a variety of ways.

Rosh Chodesh L'Banot, also known as Chag HaBanot, and in Arabic as Eid al-Banat, is a holiday celebrated by some Jewish communities in the Middle East on Rosh Chodesh of the Jewish month of Tevet, during the Jewish holiday of Chanukah. The Jewish community where the holiday was most preserved is in Tunisia. But there is also evidence that it was also celebrated in Jewish communities in Libya, Algeria, Kushta, Istanbul, Morocco and Thessaloniki.

References

  1. Ames, Lynn (4 January 1978). "Sweet Sixteen: A Rite That Persists". New York Times. Archived from the original on 19 October 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  2. Rose, Gracie. "Teens change attitude toward Sweet 16". The Charger Online. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  3. 1 2 "What is Sweet Sixteen and How to celebrate it?". Cher. 15 September 2017. Archived from the original on 7 December 2018. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  4. "Sweet Sixteen Candle Lighting Ceremony in the BEGINNING or END?". Luminique Events Group. 17 April 2019. Archived from the original on 19 August 2022. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
  5. March 29, Staff WriterLast Updated (4 August 2015). "What Is the Sweet 16 Candle Ceremony?". Reference.com. Archived from the original on 19 August 2022. Retrieved 19 August 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. "16 Celebrity Episodes Of MTV's 'My Super Sweet 16' So Extravagant, They'll Make You Wish You Were Still A Teen". Bustle. 27 December 2018. Retrieved 4 June 2024.