subject: Sweet 16 Birthday Party Activities & Traditions You Don't Want to Miss [print this page] Sweet 16 Birthday Party Activities & Traditions You Don't Want to Miss
A sweet sixteen is a monumental event in anyone's family. In the United States especially, it may be celebrated like a wedding, with a huge, elegant party at a catering hall that may be extremely formal. It may be semi-formal or casual as well. Sweet sixteen parties can range from modest events at home with just the household to large affairs with a DJ, make-up and hair stylists, yachts, lodge ballrooms, or fancy reception halls. All have one thing in common: a complete focus on a selected young lady who is celebrating her 16th birthday.
There are several traditions which you don't want to leave out.
The first one is the Candle-lighting ceremony, during which 16 candles are lit. Each candle holds a particular meaning: The first candle is for the girl's parents. The second candle is for the siblings. (If there aren't any siblings, then this candle can signify the grandparents.) Candles 3, 4, 5 and 6 are for the rest of the family members. Candles 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14 are for friends. Candle 15 is for the girl's best friend. The sixteenth candle is for an important male, such as a boyfriend or good friend. Generally there is a seventeenth candle which represents good luck.
The shoe ceremony is another custom at sweet sixteen parties, although they are more typically seen in Latin cultures (who have Quinceaeras, age 15 instead of 16). In this ceremony, the birthday girl is approached by her grandfather, uncle, godfather, or father with high heeled shoes on a decorative pillow. The girl, who is sitting down and wearing flat footwear such as slippers, would then be helped into her new heels. This ceremony symbolically transitions the lady right into a woman.
The tiara ceremony is similar to the shoe ceremony, except this time it is the mom who approaches the girl. She places a tiara on her daughter's head to represent her turning into a woman. Typically both the shoe and the tiara ceremonies are performed one after the other, in order that two people approach the birthday girl at the same time, one with a pillow with high heels, and the opposite with a pillow with a tiara.
Just like the custom seen at weddings, the daddy-daughter dance is important here too. Often the first music of the evening, the girl and her father dance to a slow tune while everyone sits and watches. Then the rest of the party joins in.
A newer tradition, particularly at high end celebrations, is the setting of a big projector screen presenting a video montage, with music in the background, of different pictures or movies taken of the birthday girl ranging from when she was a baby, in chronological older, often ending with photos or videos of her in the current day in her sweet sixteen dress. This video montage could be displayed at different occasions during the party and usually consists of photos contributed by relatives and friends.
As reference is made to girls who are turning sixteen, some families try to celebrate the sixteenth birthday for their boys too. Enormous parties with big birthday cakes, normally displaying the boy's interests, may be held, with plenty of relatives and friends in attendance to commemorate this special year in a young man's life.
Do your research and check out these sweet 16 party ideas and traditions online today!
