Coming of age
This article needs additional citations for verification. (May 2012) |
Coming of age is a
In the past, and in some societies today, such a change is often associated with the age of sexual maturity (puberty), especially menarche and spermarche.[1] In others, it is associated with an age of religious responsibility.
Particularly in Western societies, modern legal conventions stipulate points around the end of adolescence and the beginning of
Many cultures retain ceremonies to confirm the coming of age, and coming-of-age stories are a well-established sub-genre in literature, the film industry, and other forms of media.
Cultural
Ancient Greek
In certain states in Ancient Greece, such as
South Africa
This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (July 2023) |
Ancient Rome
The puberty ritual for the young Roman male involved shaving his beard and taking off his
Rome lacked the elaborate female puberty rituals of ancient Greece, and for girls, the wedding ceremony was in part a rite of passage for the bride. Girls coming of age
Roman girls were expected to remain virgins until
On the night before the wedding, the bride bound up her hair with a yellow hairnet she had woven. The confining of her hair signifies the harnessing of her sexuality within marriage. Her weaving of the tunica recta and the hairnet demonstrated her skill and her capacity for acting in the traditional matron's role as custos
Anglo-Celtic
The legal age of majority is 18 in most Anglo-Celtic cultures (such as Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and Ireland). One is legally enabled to vote, purchase tobacco and alcohol, marry without parental consent (although one can wed at 16 in Scotland and New Zealand) and sign contracts. But in the early twentieth century, the age of legal majority was 21, although the marriageable age was typically lower. Even though turning 21 now has few, if any, legal effects in most of these countries, its former legal status as the age of majority has caused it to continue to be celebrated.
Canada
In Canada, a person aged 16 and over can legally drive a car and work, but are only considered to be an adult at age 18 like in the US. In most provinces, the legal age to purchase alcohol and cigarettes is 19, except in Alberta, Manitoba, and Quebec where it is 18 years old.
India
In India, a person aged 18 and over is allowed to own and drive a car, and has attained the right to vote and the age of consent. Inspired by the western cultures however there are usually sweet sixteen birthday parties celebrated across the country but with little cultural significance besides having now become a young adult. The drinking age varies within states from 18 to 21 years old.
Humanist
In some countries, Humanist or freethinker organisations have arranged courses or camps for non-religious adolescents, in which they can study or work on ethical, social, and personal topics important for adult life, followed by a formal rite of passage comparable to the Christian Confirmation. Some of these ceremonies are even called "civil confirmations". The purpose of these ceremonies is to offer a festive ritual for those youngsters, who do not believe in any religion, but nevertheless want to mark their transition from childhood to adulthood.[13]
Indonesia
In Bali, the coming of age ceremony is supposed to take place after a girl's first menstrual period or a boy's voice breaks. However, due to expense, it is often delayed until later. The upper canines are filed down slightly to symbolize the effacing of the individual's "wild" nature. While in
Japan
Since 1948, the
Korea
In Korea, citizens are permitted to marry, vote, drive, drink alcohol, and smoke at age 19.[clarification needed]
The Monday of the third week of May is "coming-of-age day". There has been a traditional coming of age ceremony since before the Goryeo dynasty, but it has mostly disappeared. In the traditional way, when boys or girls were between the ages of fifteen and twenty, boys wore gat, a Korean traditional hat made of bamboo and horsehair, and girls did their hair in a chignon with a binyeo, a Korean traditional ornamental hairpin. Both of them wore hanbok, which are sometimes worn at the coming of age ceremony in the present day.
Latin America
In some[
Papua New Guinea
Kovave is a ceremony to initiate Papua New Guinea boys into adult society. It involves dressing up in a conical hat which has long strands of leaves hanging from the edge, down to below the waist. The name Kovave is also used to describe the head-dress.
Philippines
In the Philippines, a popular coming of age celebration for 18-year-old women is the debut. It is normally a formal affair, with a strict dress code such as a coat and tie for the upper-middle and upper classes, and usually has a theme or color scheme that is related to the dress code. The débutante traditionally chooses for her entourage "18 Roses", who are 18 special men or boys in the girl's life such as boyfriends, relatives and brothers, and "18 Candles", who are the Roses' female counterparts. Each presents a rose or candle then delivers a short speech about the debutante. The Roses sometimes dance with the débutante before presenting their flower and speech, with the last being her father or boyfriend. Other variations exist, such as 18 Treasures (of any gender; gives a present instead of a candle or flower) or other types of flowers aside from roses being given, but the significance of "18" is almost always retained.
Filipino men, on the other hand, celebrate their debut on their 21st birthday. There is no traditionally set program marking this event, and celebrations differ from family to family. Both men and women may opt not to hold a debut at all.[citation needed]
Romani
In the Romani culture, males are called Shave when they come of age at 20, and females Sheya. Males are then taught to drive and work in their family's line of trade, while females are taught the women's line of work.
In Ukraine, Poland, and the Scandinavian Countries, the legal coming of age of a person is celebrated at either 18 or 21.
South Africa
In South Africa, the Xhosa Ulwaluko and the Sotho Lebollo la banna circumcision and manhood ceremonies are still undertaken by the majority of males.
Spain
In Spain during the 19th century, there was a civilian coming of age bound to the compulsory
In 2002, conscription was abolished in Spain in favor of an all-professional military. As a result, the quintos disappeared except for a few rural areas where it is kept as a coming of age traditional party without further consequences.
United States
In the United States, people are allowed to drive at 16 in all states, with the exception of New Jersey, which requires drivers to be 17 and older, and sometimes receive the responsibility of owning their own car. People are allowed to drive at age 15 in Idaho and Montana. At 16, people are also legally allowed to donate blood and work in most establishments. In spite of this, it is not until the age of 18 that a person is legally considered an adult and can vote and join the military (age 17 with parental consent). The legal age for purchasing and consuming alcohol, tobacco, and recreational marijuana (in states where it is legal) is 21.[16][17] Multiple localities have also raised the minimum purchase age independent of state laws.[18]
Vietnam
During the feudal period, the coming of age was celebrated at 15 for noblemen. Nowadays, the age is 20 for both genders.
Religious
Baha'i
Turning 15, the "age of maturity", as the Baha'i faith terms it, is a time when a child is considered spiritually mature. Declared Baha'is that have reached the age of maturity are expected to begin observing certain
Buddhism
Depending on how long they stay, the boys will learn various chants and recitations in the canonical language (
After living the novitiate monastic life for some time, the boy, now considered to have "come of age", will either take higher ordination as a fully ordained monk (a bhikkhu) or will (more often) return to lay life. In Southeast Asian countries, where most practitioners of Theravada Buddhism reside, women will often refuse to marry a man who has not ordained temporarily as a Samanera in this way at some point in his life. Men who have completed this Samanera ordination and have returned to lay life are considered primed for adult married life and are described in the Thai language and the Khmer language by terms which roughly translate as "cooked", "finished", or "cooled off" in English, as in meal preparation/consumption. Thus, one's monastic training is seen to have prepared one properly for familial, social, and civic duty and/or one's passions and unruliness of the boy are seen to have "cooled down" enough for him to be of use to a woman as a proper man.
Christianity
In many
In Christian denominations that practice
In some denominations, full membership in the Church, if not bestowed at birth, often must wait until the age of accountability and frequently is granted only after a period of preparation known as catechesis. The time of innocence before one has the ability to understand truly the laws of God and that God sees one as innocent is also seen as applying to individuals who suffer from a mental disability which prevents them from ever reaching a time when they are capable of understanding the laws of God. These individuals are thus seen, according to some Christians, as existing in a perpetual state of innocence.
Catholicism
In 1910, Pope Pius X issued the decree Quam singulari, which changed the age of eligibility for receiving both the sacrament of Penance and the Eucharist to a "time when a child begins to reason, that is about the seventh year, more or less." Previously, local standards had been at least 10 or 12 or even 14 years old.[27] Historically, the sacrament of confirmation has been administered to youth who have reached the "age of discretion". The catechism states that confirmation should be received "at the appropriate time", but in danger of death it can be administered to children. Together with the sacraments of baptism and the Eucharist, the sacrament of confirmation completes the sacraments of Christian initiation, "for without Confirmation and Eucharist, Baptism is certainly valid and efficacious, but Christian initiation remains incomplete."[28]
In
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sets the age of accountability and minimum age for baptism at 8 years of age. All persons younger than 8 are considered innocent and not accountable for their sinning.[29] The Church considers mentally challenged individuals whose mental age is under 8 to be in a perpetual state of innocence, while other doctrines teach that no one is 'without sin', both believe that those at a certain age are considered innocent.
Confucianism
According to the
During this rite of passage, the young person receives his/her
Hinduism
In Hinduism coming of age generally signifies that a boy or girl is mature enough to understand his responsibility towards family and society. Some Casts in Hinduism also have the sacred thread ceremony, called Upanayana, for Dvija (twice-born) boys that mark their coming of age to do religious ceremonies. A rite of passage males have to go through is Bhrataman (or Chudakarma) that marks adulthood.
Ifá
In the
Islam
Children are not required to perform any obligatory religious obligations prior to reaching the age of puberty, although they are encouraged to begin
A girl is considered an adult when she begins menstruating, while a boy is considered an adult at twelve-to-fifteen years old. The evidence for this is the narration of Ibn Umar that he said: "Allah's Apostle called me to present myself in front of him on the eve of the battle of Uhud, while I was fourteen years of age at that time and he did not allow me to take part in that battle but he called me in front of him on the eve of the battle of the Trench when I was fifteen years old, and he allowed me to join the battle." (Reported by Bukhari and Muslim). When Umar Ibn Abdul Aziz heard this Hadith he made this age the evidence to differentiate between a mature and an immature person.
In some Islamic cultures circumcision (khitan) can be a ritual associated with coming of age for boys, taking place in late childhood or early adolescence.[36]
Judaism
In the Jewish faith, boys reach religious maturity at the age of thirteen and become a
Chassidim
In various Chassidic sects when boys turn 3 years of age, they have an upsherin (sect related typical Brooklin-Yiddish for Yiddish Abshern, for German Abscheren, "Haare schneiden", engl. hair cut, lit. 'to sheer away') ceremony, when they receive their first haircut. Until then, their parents allow their hair to grow long, until they undergo this esoteric rite. Little girls for the first time co-light some extra ″Shabbat candles, after their mothers did so, also when they turn 3 years of age.
Shinto
In the Shinto faith, boys were taken to the shrine of their patron deity at approximately 12–14 years old. They were then given adult clothes and a new haircut. This was called
Sikhism
In Sikhism, when one reaches the age of maturity, the men will typically partake in a ceremony called Dastar Bandhi. This is the first time the proper Sikh Turban is tied on the adolescent. Women who wear the turban may also partake in the ceremony, although it is less common.
See also
- Adolescence
- Age of consent
- Age of majority
- Age of Majority (Catholic Church)
- Bildungsroman
- Coming of Age (Unitarian Universalism)
- Coming-of-age story
- Defense of infancy § The age of criminal responsibility
- Manhood
- Person (Catholic canon law) § Age of Majority
- Poy Sang Long
- Quinceañera (age 15)
- Rite of passage
- Self-discovery
- Sweet sixteen (birthday)
- Coming of Age in Samoa
References
- ^ Joseph, Suad (2003). Encyclopedia of Women & Islamic Cultures. p. 68.
- ^ Persius 5.30–31.
- Forum Augustum: Dominic Montserrat, "Reading Gender in the Roman World," in Experiencing Rome: Culture, Identity, and Power in the Roman Empire (Routledge, 2000), p. 170.
- ^ Ariadne Staples, From Good Goddess to Vestal Virgins: Sex and Category in Roman Religion (Routledge, 1998), p. 89; Michelle George, "The 'Dark Side' of the Toga," in Roman Dress and the Fabrics of Roman Culture (University of Toronto Press, 2008), p. 55; Propertius 3.15.3–6; Ovid, Fasti 3.777–778.
- scholion; p. 145 on comparison with Greece.
- ^ Sebesta, "Women's Costume," pp. 533–534.
- ^ Amy Richlin, "Not before Homosexuality: The Materiality of the cinaedus and the Roman Law against Love between Men," Journal of the History of Sexuality 3.4 (1993), p. 533, citing as example Martial 12.96.
- ^ Judith P. Hallett, Fathers and Daughters in Roman Society: Women and the Elite Family (Princeton University Press, 1984), 142; Beryl Rawson, "The Roman Family in Italy" (Oxford University Press, 1999), p. 21.
- ^ Sebesta, "Women's Costume," pp. 529, 534, 538.
- ^ Sebesta, "Women's Costume," pp. 534–535; Festus 55 (edition of Lindsay) on the nodus Herculaneus, which was used for its apotropaic powers on jewelry as well. The Roman Hercules was a giver of fertility and a great scatterer of seed: he fathered, according to Verrius Flaccus, seventy children.
- ^ Cinctus vinctusque, according to Festus; Karen K. Hersch, The Roman Wedding: Ritual and Meaning in Antiquity (Cambridge University Press, 2010), pp. 101, 110, 211.
- ^ Sebesta, "Women's Costume," p. 535.
- ^ Krause, Klaus-Peter. "Geschichte der Jugendweihe" (in German). Jugendweihe Deutschland e.V. Archived from the original on 2008-05-26. Retrieved 2007-11-15.
- ^ "Diet enacts law lowering voting age to 18 from 20". 17 June 2015. Archived from the original on 4 October 2018. Retrieved 3 October 2018 – via Japan Times Online.
- ^ "Article expired – The Japan Times". Archived from the original on 2016-12-27. Retrieved 2016-12-26.
- ^ "Oregon raises cigarette-buying age to 21". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2018-04-24. Retrieved 2018-04-18.
- ^ Romboy, Dennis (3 February 2015). "Utah lawmaker proposes raising legal smoking age to 21". Deseret News. Archived from the original on 19 April 2018. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
- ^ "What we do" (PDF). www.tobaccofreekids.org. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2018-04-19. Retrieved 2018-04-18.
- ^ "For Baha'is, turning 15 means more than a birthday – Bahai Faith – Baha'i Faith". Archived from the original on 2010-12-28.
- ^ The Lutheran World Almanac and Annual Encyclopedia for 1921. Lutheran Bureau. 1921. p. 68.
In this connection it should be stated that as it is the custom of the Lutheran Church to receive into full membership only those who have been confirmed
- ISBN 978-9780814465.)
Confirmation in the Anglican Communion is the laying on of hands (of the Bishop) upon those who are baptised and have come to years of discretion. In this case, it involves those baptised both at infancy and adulthood. It is the attainment of this status, among other conditions, that determines, in the Anglican Church, full membership of the Church and eligibility to be admitted to the Lord's Table, and to enjoy certain rights of the Church.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ^ "Baptism and Confirmation". The Methodist Church in Britain. 2014. Archived from the original on 7 July 2017. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
- ^ Cavadini, John C. (17 July 2018). "Confirmation strengthens our identity as children of God". Catholic Philly. Archived from the original on 27 January 2021. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
- ^ "The Restored Order of Sacraments of Initiation". ewtn.com. Archived from the original on 2014-02-01. Retrieved 2014-02-01.
- ^ "Confirmation before communion, Liverpool decides – CathNews". Archived from the original on 2011-07-26.
- ^ Association of Interchurch Families – England. "First Communion". Archived from the original on 2007-10-20.
- ^ See Quam Singulari Archived 2018-07-16 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ Catechism of the Catholic Church CCC 1306-1307
- ^ Book of Mormon: Moroni 8:5–26, Doctrine and Covenants 68:27
- ^ Sima, Qian. The Grand Historian.
- ^ Sima, Qian. The Grand Historian.
- ^ Confucius. Book of Rites.
- ^ Confucius. Book of Rites.
- ^ "Coming of Age Ceremony in Chinese Culture". Archived from the original on 2022-04-01. Retrieved 2019-01-14.
- ^ "Islamic obligations at puberty". IslamWeb. October 25, 2001. Archived from the original on August 2, 2012. Retrieved October 12, 2009.
- ISBN 978-0-334-05233-3.