Quinceanera Tradition

Somehow, I managed to keep a smile on my face as if I had no fears. The ceremony included Bible verses and singing. I received six gifts from my aunts and uncles: a Bible, a bouquet of flowers, a ring, a bracelet, a rosary and a tiara. Each of them was blessed by the father. Each gift I received held a meaning: closeness with family and with God, and the passage to womanhood.

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 Hispanic culture values children’s turning of age just like the American culture does. In American culture, teenagers can buy cigarettes and lottery tickets at age eighteen. At age sixteen, most American teens (depending on the state) can get a permit and begin to learn to drive. In Hispanic culture, fifteen is the chosen age; they value the girl’s fifteenth birthday because that is the age that they believe the young girl changes and becomes an adult, a woman. When the girl celebrates her fifteenth birthday, they celebrate by having a big turning-of-age ceremony and reception which they call a Quinceñera. The Quinceñera is a big event, almost like a wedding for the young girl.

For example, the traditions that take place in Cuba may not be present in a Quinceañera in the Dominican Republic. However, most countries share similar aspects. Typically, there is a Changing of the Shoes ceremony. This is when the father removes the flat shoes the girl arrived in, and places on her feet a pair of high heel shoes representing her transition into young womanhood. A second common ritual is the ceremony of the last doll. This is when the father presents to his daughter a doll marking her last toy from her childhood. Dancing is an important aspect of any Quinceañera. Typically, a choreographed waltz or dance is performed by the Quinceañera and her court. The quince’s court is comprised of young girls, young men, or a combination of both. The court is traditionally made up of fourteen people plus the quince. The fourteen court members represent the past fourteen years of the quince’s

It is customary for all Latin American cultures to celebrate a coming of age party for their daughters called a quinceanera. Parents commemorate their beloved daughter’s transition from being a little girl to becoming a fifteen year old young lady by inviting family and friends to join in this huge event. A modern day young lady is celebrated with a ceremony, grand party with extravagant decorations, exquisite food, memorable toasts form the godparents, and usually wrapped up with a funky dance. Every little girl awaits the day when she will be treated and given the attention of a princess for a day. It was my pleasure to attend my cousin Daira’s quinceanera, and witness my first quinceanera in Mexico.

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Within a chapter titled “Tracking down a tradition” (111), Julia Alvarez delves into background of how the Quinceañera tradition began. She explained that some believe the tradition began in ancient Aztec rites other believes it began with the Mayans and some even believe that the “indigenous” people started the tradition (111). Within the Aztec tradition, the girl was ready for marriage at age fifteen. During the ceremony the mother acknowledges that womanhood is upon her daughter and warns her daughter in a speech of life of perils and possibilities that await. Similarly Esperanza’s great-grandmother’s story also tells of the life she will one day grow into.

The gown is one of the important factor of the entire ceremony for both a quinceañ​era and a sweet sixteen and its one of the many things that both of the cultural ceremonies have in common. The dress is a representation of who the girl is. Generally though, a traditional quinceañ​era ball gown would be in the color pink, but lately with the merging of the two cultures, the dress color is picked based on the overall theme of the party. But the girls don’t just get to pick out one dress, many for both ceremonies may choose to pick out a second dress for their traditional surprise dances and a third one to wear throughout the party, its really all up to the girl.  It is customary for the quinceañera to receive some traditional items like a tiara, a cross and a bible. As for in a sweet sixteen, the only traditional item would be a car. But yet again with the merging of the two cultures, a combination of all the items can be giving and even more.

Changing the shoes is definitely one of the most significant quinceañera traditions. Afterwards the quinceañera will dance the waltz with her father and then perform her surprise dance for her audience. Instead of flats the quinceañera can adorn a pair of all-white converse or any brand of tennis shoe, detach the laces and exchange them with ribbons, and add rhinestones or other decorative components, like sequins or crystals. There are four major details to take into consideration: color, style, comfort and price. Each feature is significant and unless you have unlimited funds for this occasion then the other three are a

The people should maintain that tradition of the quinceañera. It is very important to keep this tradition because it is very great there your no longer a kid and your a woman. You can stand up for yourself and dont need you parents to stick up for you. It has been around for so long and loosing it would be horrible to lose it. If we show this tradition to our kids and they show it to there kid and so on, it will last a long time and other people will be able to celebrate it an have fun at the partys. Me an dmy whole family support it. We even planed my sisters quinceañera. That was my first time at a quinceañera. Sience then I have been wanting one. MY mom said that when I turn 15 i will have the best one. That is why I think we should keep

At my quinceanera, the activities will include dancing, swimming, eating, and talking. We will swim in my grandmother’s pool in her backyard. We will dance in the front yard and we can mingle in the house.

One of the many important celebrations in the Mexican culture is the tradition of the quinceañera. This constitutes a ceremony on a girl’s fifteenth birthday to mark her passage to womanhood, to give thanks to God for his blessings, and to present a young woman to the community.

Being from a hispanic community, this means one thing, quinceaneras. However, being the introvert I am, I was hesitant about going. After weeks of Laura convincing me to go to one, I caved in.

The whole family came together; part of her family came from New York and Texas. Godparents, grandparents, aunts and uncles who were also the “padrinos” or sponsors; the padrinos are those who have contributed financially to the celebration, padrinos are distinguished because they wear a small corsage. The godparents are very important in this celebration. The godparents presented the porcelain doll to the quinceañera. This was a special moment for the quinceanera because in our culture, godparents are respected the same as blood parents. The first dance was with her father. This first dance is very significant because the father has the opportunity to change the quinceañera ballerina flats with the high-heeled shoes. The cutting of the cake was at the very end of the celebration, the parents gave some words of thanks and the quinceanera as well took a moment to express her gratitude to her parents, family and friends.

It 's customary for married couples to celebrate their wedding anniversaries and tradition states that there are certain types of gifts that are appropriate to give for each anniversary. These gifts traditionally represent materials that symbolize a marriage built in strength. They appear to have evolved during medieval Europe, when women were presented with wreaths of silver for the twenty-fifth anniversaries and wreaths of gold for the fiftieth. If you 've been invited to party for a couple celebrating a major wedding anniversary, use this following list of traditional gift materials coupled with updated gift ideas and you 'll be certain to wow the celebrating couple.