Sweet 16 in different worlds American traditions on

ASIA
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Made by Stan Kestein
Sweet 16 www.picozone.nl
American traditions on
Sweet 16 parties
In the Philippines only girls have a Sweet
16, just like in America. The only difference
is that Philippine girls have their Sweet 16
at the age of 18 when it's called a 'Début'.
They also have a certain tradition linked to
the celebration. 18 male friends have to
give her a rose. Thereon her father gives
her the last rose and dances with her.
In China boys also have a celebration, but
that's when they become twenty. It's called
a Guan Li. Girls have a similar celebration
called Ji Li at the age of fifteen.
In South India the celebration isn't linked to
a certain age, but from the moment a girl
reachhes her first period. This special
moment is celebrated by dressing her up as
a bride, aunts giving her a water bath
called 'mangal neerattu vizha' and of course
a (big) ceremony.
This is probably one of the most important
traditions. In this ceremony a parent hands
over a ring or other jewelry from their
gread-grandmother to the daughter. The
thing what makes it so important is that the
parents show they see her daughter now as
adult by giving her the responsibility to learn
and carry on family traditions.
PASSING THE TORCH
By the time the party approaches it's end,
photos will be projected. These are photos
show the girl from when she was a baby all
the way up to photos from the party when
she stands there in her special Sweet 16
dress. This video montage is either made
by the DJ or a family member like the
parents or a sibling.
CANDLE-LIGHTING CEREMONY
During the candle-lighting ceremony,
sixteen candles will be lighted. Each of
them has a special meaning. The first
candle will be lighted by the parents. The
second candle is for the brothers and
sisters, and when there are none, the
candle will represent the grandparents. The
third, fourth, fifth and sixth candle are for the
rest of the family. Candle 7 till 14 represents
the kids' friends and the fifteenth candle is
for her (or his) best friend(s). The last
candle is for a significant male. That can be
a boyfriend or a good male friend.
Sometimes a seventeenth candle is added,
which stands for good luck.
PHOTO TIMELINE
TIARA CEREMONY
The tiara ceremony is virtually the same as
the shoe ceremony. The difference is that
instead of a male family member like the
father, the mother approaches the birthday
girl. This time she has a tiara on the
decorated pillow and the mother places it on
the head of her daughter. In some cases,
these two ceremonies are combined. The
father as well as the mother then
approachhes the girl and hand her over the
items at the same time.
FATHER-DAUGHTER DANCE
This a tradition which also occurs at
weddings. The father and daughter dance
together on a slow jazz song while the rest
of the guests sits around them and watch
them dance.
Sweet 16 in different
worlds
SOUTH AMERICA
In the most Latin American cultures, they
celebrate a girl's fifteenth birthday to mark
the transition from childhood to becoming a
woman. There it's called a 'fiesta de quince'
or 'baile de debutantes.'
CHRISTIAN WORLD
A typical American Sweet 16 is mostly for
girls. In the christian culture however, they
have such parties for girls as well as boys.
These are events for thirteen to fourteen
year old children.
JEWISH WORLD
SHOE CEREMONY
Conservative and Reform Jews celebrate
the Sweet 16 differently. Conservative and
Orthodox Jewish girls celebrate it at their
twelfth birthday with a 'bat mitzvah' and
boys a 'bar mitzvah' at their thirteenth
birthday. In Reform Judaism both boys and
girls have a ceremony when they are 13
years old. This coming of age party is very
important for Jewish people, because that's
the moment when those kids are
considered as grown-ups.
This tradition only applies to girls. The now
sixteen year old girl has to sit down in a
chair, whereupon her grandfather, uncle,
godfather, or father gives her high heels,
which are presented on a nice decorated
pillow. Following the original tradition, the
girl has to wear flat shoes. She then will be
ceremoniously helped into her new high
heels. This shows that the girl now has
become a woman.
What is a Sweet 16?
A sweet 16 is a party, mostly for girls in the
United States and Canada to celebrate their
16th birthday. The word Sweet indicates the
innocence and virginity of the girl. The way
they celebrate it can vary from each girl and
each culture. Broadcaster MTV has made a
TV-show where they follow girls of wealthy
families who celebrate outrageous birthday
parties.
Sweet 16s find their originins in debutant
balls of the seventeenth century. Those
were traditionally English. At this balls
young women were presented to the royal
court for the first time as women and
possible brides for men with a high social
status. It marks the transformation from girl
to woman, from student to member of
society. The term 'sweet sixteen' has been
in use at least since 1597. The sweet
sixteen birthday parties have been held
since 1765. From that time, many traditions
have developped.
My Super Sweet 16 is a reality TV-show
from the American broadcaster MTV. It's
about teens who celebrate a coming of age
birthday party with the most outrageous
feasts. The show is not only about the feast
itself, but also about the whole organisation.
You can see them making the invitations,
arranging the biggest performers, looking
for the perfect outfit with friends or watching
cars for a birthday present. These
broadcasted parties are overall very
expensive, which is also shown in the
episode. The show is originally American,
but is now already broadcasted in many
more countries such as Holland and the
United Kingdom. In 2007 'Super Sweet 16:
The Movie' was released. The film is based
on the reality TV-show.
History
My Super Sweet 16