Tag Archives: sweet sixteen

Sweet Sixteen Speeches (2)

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Title: Sweet Sixteen Speeches

General Information:

  • Folklore Form/Genre: North American Initiation Rituals
  • Informant: Sarina Kothari
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: United States of America
  • Place Collected: Baker Lobby
  • Date: 11/13/18

Informant Data:

  • Sarina Kothari, 19, was born on March 20th, 1999 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She moved to Orlando, Florida when she was very young, and she has lived there for most of her life. When Sarina turned sixteen, her parents chose to help her celebrate by throwing an elaborate party where many of her friends and family members were invited.

Contextual Data:

  • Social Context: Sarina attended Trinity Preparatory School, a small Catholic private school. Despite going to a Catholic school, Sarina herself is not of the Catholic faith. Her family is upper class, and she comes from an Indian background.
  • Cultural Context: Many girls in Orlando, Florida celebrated their sixteenth birthday with a large Sweet Sixteen celebration. More than half of the girls in her grade had sweet sixteens.

Item:

  • During her sweet sixteen, there was a part when all of the people important to Sarina got up and read her speeches that they had written for her. They were all people that Sarina was very close to including her parents and her boyfriend. The speeches spoke about how special Sarina was and about different aspects of her life and her future.

Audio:

Transcript:

E: Alright Sarina, could you please describe the tradition that happened at your sweet sixteen?

S: So basically around five people gave speeches at my sweet sixteen, so it was my mom, dad, my brother, my boyfriend at the time, and then my best friend, and they all, like, had prepared it before, and they did like two minutes or three minutes each, and it was really nice because everyone was, like, in a circle just, like, listening to them and, like, laughing and it went on for, like, ten minutes.

E: So how did this specific tradition symbolize your transition into womanhood?

S: I thought it was a good transition just because I had never really heard all of the, like, important people in my life at the time speak at the same time, so it was nice to, like, hear them, like, in success[ion] and, like, one after another, and I felt like they all really cared about me, and it was really nice for like all my other friends to hear that just because everyone really felt like in the moment, like, super happy and I felt like really grateful to have all these, like, people who cared about me in my life and I just make, it more made me feel, like, at home and, like, at peace with, like, becoming sixteen, rather than like transitioning I guess.

E: Alright, thank you.

Informant’s Comments:

  • It was so nice to be able to have all of the special people in my life in one place and it was so nice hearing them talk about how much I meant to them and how I had changed their lives. It was just such a great way to mark my transition from girl to woman.

Collector’s Comments:

  • I feel like the speeches are one of the staples of a sweet sixteen celebration. Since sweet sixteens are a fairly new concept, they don’t have many set traditions, but it appears that most people choose to do the speeches and I think it’s because it’s a way for the girl to hear from those who mean the most to her.

Collector’s Information:

Edward Lu, 18

Dartmouth College

Hanover, NH

Russian 13, Fall 2018

Professor Mikhail Gronas

Professor Valentina Apresyan

Tags/Keywords:

  • Sweet Sixteen
  • Adulthood
  • Womanhood
  • Speeches

Sweet Sixteen Cake Feeding Ceremony

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Title: Sweet Sixteen Cake Feeding Ceremony

General Information:

  • Folklore Form/Genre: North American Initiation Rituals
  • Informant: Sarina Kothari
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: United States of America
  • Place Collected: Baker Lobby
  • Date: 11/13/18

 

Informant Data:

  • Sarina Kothari, 19, was born on March 20th, 1999 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She moved to Orlando, Florida when she was very young, and she has lived there for most of her life. When Sarina turned sixteen, her parents chose to help her celebrate by throwing an elaborate party where many of her friends and family members were invited.

Contextual Data:

  • Social Context: Sarina attended Trinity Preparatory School, a small Catholic private school. Despite going to a Catholic school, Sarina herself is not of the Catholic faith. Her family is upper class, and she comes from an Indian background.
  • Cultural Context: Many girls in Orlando, Florida celebrated their sixteenth birthday with a large Sweet Sixteen celebration. More than half of the girls in her grade had sweet sixteens.

Item:

  • Before the party started and the other guests arrived at her sweet sixteen party, Sarina’s grandparents one-by-one fed her pieces of her birthday cake by hand. This is actually an Indian tradition that Sarina chose to incorporate into her sweet sixteen celebration.

Audio:

Transcript:

E: Alright, so Sarina, could you please describe the tradition that occurred at your sweet sixteen?

S: So one of the traditions that occurred was that when my grandparents flew in, they had to each feed me a bite of cake, and so basically, like, they were just in a line, and they each, like, gave me a spoon of cake and then I, like, gave them a hug.

E: Now was this cake part of the birthday cake, or did they have to bring their own separate baked goods?

S: No, it was part of, it was just, like, a piece of the birthday cake.

E: Okay, and so how did this ceremony symbolize your transition into adulthood?

S: Like the ceremony or the tradition?

E: That specific tradition itself.

S: I think what they were trying to do was, like, basically show, like, one piece of, like, cake from each of the grandparents was just, like, them showing their love for me and, like, them like having, like, good wishes and, like, with each piece from a different grandparent, like, they were, like, each giving their blessing, and so it was really nice, ‘cause like, they all come from different parts of, like, America so when they all flew in it felt like I was, like, getting, like, blessings from everyone around the world, so, like, that was really nice and made me feel like I was, like, blessed and stuff.

E: Alright, thank you.

Informant’s Comments:

  • The feeding of the cake by hand is a sign of respect. Usually, the birthday girl would feed the guests; however, since this was a special occasion, her grandparents fed her instead. It was also very special to be surrounded by her grandparents who had all travelled very far to attend the party and to see their granddaughter.

Collector’s Comments:

  • I thought this was a very interesting tradition because it wasn’t like any other American tradition I had heard of. It was nice to see that Sarina was able to incorporate parts of her Indian culture into her sweet sixteen.

Collector’s Information:

Edward Lu, 18

Dartmouth College

Hanover, NH

Russian 13, Fall 2018

Professor Mikhail Gronas

Professor Valentina Apresyan

Tags/Keywords:

  • Sweet Sixteen
  • Adulthood
  • Womanhood
  • Cake
  • Indian Traditions

Sweet Sixteen Father Daughter Dance

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Title: Sweet Sixteen Father Daughter Dance

General Information:

  • Folklore Form/Genre: North American Initiation Rituals
  • Informant: Lindsey Beaudoin
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: United States of America
  • Place Collected: First Floor Berry
  • Date: 11/8/18

Informant Data:

  • Lindsey Beaudoin, 19, was born on February 8th, 1999 in Pensacola, Florida. She then moved to Virginia for three years, then to Massachusetts for five years, and finally Bedford, New Hampshire for the rest of her childhood. Lindsey herself did not have a sweet sixteen, but she attended her close friend, Jill Tokac’s, sweet sixteen.

Contextual Data:

  • Social Context: Lindsey Beaudoin and her friend Jill Tokac both grew up in Bedford, New Hampshire and they both attended Bedford High School, a public high school with approximately fifteen hundred students. Jill Tokac is Caucasian, and she comes from an upper middle-class background.
  • Cultural Context: Only a few people in Bedford, New Hampshire celebrate their sixteenth birthday with a sweet sixteen celebration. However, those who did have parties had very elaborate parties.

Item:

  • Jill Tokac’s sweet sixteen consisted of an elaborate party to which approximately two hundred people were invited. During the celebration, one important event that happened was the dance between the father and daughter. Before the dance party started, Jill and her father got up and danced in front of the other party guests. They danced to a song that meant a lot to both of them, and it was reminiscent of the dance that happens between the bride and the groom at weddings. Later in the night, her father was also one of the people who gave a speech about her, talking about how much he loved her and about her bright future ahead of her.

Audio:

Transcript:

E: So Lindsey, could you describe the tradition?

L: So, the tradition at this party was, it was a pretty, like, formal “you’re in dressed up” and there was a dance party, and it started out with a dance between Jill, the girl who was celebrating her sweet sixteen, and her father.

E: And can you explain how this ceremony symbolized her transition to womanhood?

L: It was kind of a, like, I don’t know, I guess very formal, like, ceremonial thing, like it happens at weddings, and her father was also one of the people that kind of, that gave a speech about, like, how she had grown up and changed and sort of, like, become an adult over the sixteen years, so like, it was kind of, like, tangible representation of her, like, becoming a woman, and turning sixteen.

E: Alright, thank you.

Informant’s Comments:

  • The dance was symbolic of her father being the first man in her life, and it was a moment for the father to cherish his daughter one last time before she went into womanhood. Everyone was just watching them dance and it was such a great moment to witness.

Collector’s Comments:

  • This tradition reminds me a lot of the father daughter dance that happens during quinceañeras. It’s interesting to see how aspects of other cultures have found their way into sweet sixteens since the USA is considered to be a melting pot of cultures.

Collector’s Information:

Edward Lu, 18

Dartmouth College

Hanover, NH

Russian 13, Fall 2018

Professor Mikhail Gronas

Professor Valentina Apresyan

Tags/Keywords:

  • Sweet Sixteen
  • Quinceañera
  • Father Daughter Dance
  • Adulthood
  • Womanhood

Sweet Sixteen Candle

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Title: Sweet Sixteen Candle

General Information:

  • Folklore Form/Genre: North American Initiation Rituals
  • Informant: Jennie Rhodes
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: United States of America
  • Place Collected: First Floor Berry
  • Date: 11/10/18

Informant Data:

  • Jennie Rhodes, 19, was born on March 3rd, 1999 in San Francisco, California. She’s lived in Santa Barbara, California all of her life. Although Jennie did not have a traditional sweet sixteen where many people were invited, she had a smaller gathering with her close family and friends. She is currently a sophomore at Dartmouth College.

Contextual Data:

  • Social Context: Jennie attended Dos Pueblos High School, a large public high school with approximately 3,000 students. Her family is upper middle class, and she comes from a Caucasian background.
  • Cultural Context: It was very uncommon for girls in Santa Barbara, California to have large sweet sixteen parties. Most of her friends also celebrated their sixteenth birthday with a smaller gathering rather than a large party.

Item: When Jennie was born, her mom was given a candle that had sixteen notches on it – each notch representing a year of her life until she was sixteen. Every year on her birthday, she would burn the candle down one notch. On her sixteenth birthday, she burned the candle completely until only the base was left.

Audio: 

Transcript:

E: So Jennie, could you describe the tradition please?

J: So when I was born, my mom was given a candle that had a notch for every year of my birthday until I was sixteen, and then, sixteen was the base and it said “Happy Sweet Sixteen.” So every year you, on your birthday, you were supposed to burn one layer, one number of that birthday.

E: So there were sixteen notches total, I’m assuming?

J: There were fifteen and then the base said “Happy Sweet Sixteen”

E: Alright. And so how did this ceremony/tradition symbolize your transition into adulthood?

J: I think that when I turned sixteen and it was all burned and there was nothing left, it was kind of symbolizing how, like, my childhood was over and this tradition that I’ve had since I was one years old is over and now I’m closer to an adult and can make my own traditions and stuff like that.

E: Alright, thank you Jennie.

J: Okay, yeah!

Informant’s Comments:

  • This was a really special moment for her since she had been doing it since birth. When she finally finished burning the candle, it was representative of the completion of her childhood and of the start of her adulthood.

Collector’s Comments:

  • When Jennie was telling me about this story, I could only imagine how amazing it must’ve felt when she finally got to burn the last bit of the candle. I also imagined how bittersweet the moment must’ve been since the sixteen-year long ceremony had finally come to an end.

Collector’s Information:

Edward Lu, 18

Dartmouth College

Hanover, NH

Russian 13, Fall 2018

Professor Mikhail Gronas

Professor Valentina Apresyan

Tags/Keywords:

  • Candle
  • Sweet Sixteen
  • Adulthood
  • Womanhood

Sweet Sixteen Speeches (1)

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Title: Sweet Sixteen Speeches

General Information about Item:

  • Folklore Form/Genre: North American Initiation Rituals
  • Informant: Chetana Kalidindi
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: United States of America
  • Place Collected: First Floor Berry
  • Date: 11/2/18

Informant Data:

  • Chetana Kalidindi, 19, was born on August 4th, 1999 in Mountain View, California. She lived there for all of her childhood with her parents and her sister Divya. Although Chetana did not have her own sweet sixteen, she attended her sister Divya’s sweet sixteen and many of her friends’ sweet sixteens. She is currently a sophomore at Dartmouth College.

Contextual Data:

  • Social Context: Both Chetana and her sister Divya grew up in Mountain View, California and they both attended The Harker School, a small private school. They come from a south Asian/Indian background and their family is upper middle class.
  • Cultural Context: Sweet sixteens are a very common celebration to have in Mountain View, California, and most girls celebrate their transition to adulthood by throwing one.

Item:

  • At Divya’s sweet sixteen there were many special traditions that happened including a dance where the birthday girl was lifted up by her friends, cutting the cake, and the presentation of speeches about the Divya by her family members and her close friends. The speeches were the most important event of the night. For the speeches, friend and family members went up one by one and each spoke about how they have watched her grow up and about her journey to womanhood. They also speak about why she’s special to them and about their hopes and goals for her future.

Audio:

Transcript:

E: Could you please describe the tradition?

C: Yeah, so I think the main, like, the biggest part of the night was dancing, and then we had a photographer, so, taking pictures with all of her friends, and they all lifted her up, and I think that was a big part of it, and then right after that we all cut the cake and my parents had speeches.

E: And could you please explain why these ceremonies were important as far as her transition into adulthood.

C: I think, yeah, I think the speeches were the biggest, like, symbol because my parents talked a lot about that and just her growing up, and I know that a lot of other sweet sixteens that I’ve been to are kind of the same situation, but specifically for that we had a lot of speeches. Actually, I gave a speech, and we basically just talked about how she’s grown and I think my dad actually did mention that this was like a symbolic event and she’s now a young woman, so.

E: Alright, thank you.

Informant’s Comments:

  • The speeches are symbolic as they are meant to reminisce on the birthday girl’s childhood and to hope for a bright future. Everyone who gave a speech was someone that was very close to the birthday girl and was someone who had watched her as she had grown up.

Collector’s Comments:

  • When I was younger I went to a family friend’s sweet sixteen and she had a very similar ceremony where her family and friends gave speeches about her. It really was a special moment for everyone involved.

Collector’s Information:

Edward Lu, 18

Dartmouth College

Hanover, NH

Russian 13, Fall 2018

Professor Mikhail Gronas

Professor Valentina Apresyan

Tags/Keywords:

  • Sweet Sixteen
  • Speeches
  • Adulthood
  • Womanhood

North America Initiation Rituals: Sweet Sixteen Planning

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Title: North America Initiation Rituals: Sweet Sixteen Planning

General Information about Item:

  • Initiation Rituals
  • Culture: American
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: United States
  • Informant: Vanessa Pinney
  • Place Collected: Colllis Center
  • Date Collected: 11-2-18

Informant Data:

  • Vanessa Pinney, age 19, is a female Dartmouth student in the class of 2021. She was born and raised in New York, New York. Her ethnic background is primarily English. She went to a small private high school in the city. At Dartmouth, Vanessa is a U.G.A., is a member of Sexperts, and a member of the Taekwondo team. She is planning to major in Biomedical Engineering with a minor in Environmental Sciences.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: Many consider America to be the “melting pot” of a diverse range of cultures. The blending of cultures is reflected in many traditions in America, including sweet sixteen. Sweet sixteen’s borrow various traditions from othercoming of age ceremonies. The two main celebrations that it borrows from are the Jewish Bat Mitzvah and the Latinx Quinceañera. ​
  • Social Context: Sweet sixteen are typically thrown by middle class toupper class families. The frequency of girls that have a sweet sixteen varies from region to region, but in generally since the celebration is quite a financial burden regions that are economically well off tend to have a higher frequency. Sweet sixteen’s are celebrated by girls in America, regardless of ethnicity.

Item:

  • The Sweet Sixteen is often regarded as a transition point between childhood and adolescence. As a result, many girls for the first time are allowed to take on the responsibility of planning out their Sweet Sixteen. This is often the first time a girl will have to think of planning and financial aspects of a birthday party. The taking on of responsibility is an important first step in becoming incorporated as a women. When analyzed this tradition falls under the separation stage of the three stages of initiation.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

 

Transcript:

  • “My family doesn’t really have an established tradition of sweet sixteen’s… My mom thought before I went away it might be fun if I had a small Sweet Sixteen party with some of my friends. She told me that she did not have to much time to plan it, so I had to do a lot of the work myself…It was fairly last minute but it was fun because I got to plan it out myself. And up until that point I didn’t have to many birthday parties. Whenever I had them it would be something my parents planned and so I guess it was unofficially some sort of experience in responsibility in how to plan an event like this. And I had to figure out the finances and the tickets to the show and what restaurant. Actually, (I) made the reservation myself and it was a cool experience…”

Informant’s Comments:

  • She really enjoyed the new experience of taking on the responsibility of planning her Sweet Sixteen. She was still able to enjoy her Sweet Sixteen, even though her family did not have a long tradition of having Sweet Sixteen’s.

Collector’s Comments:

  • I had a very similar Sweet Sixteen experience as my informant. I am the first in my family to have a Sweet Sixteen. Also, I planned by myself my Sweet Sixteen dinner as well. It is interesting to see the parallels to my experience despite the fact that our cultural and regional backgrounds are very different.

Analysis:                

  • All initiation rituals consist of three main stages: separation, transition, and incorporation. For the North American Sweet Sixteen and Quinceañera, the separation stage consists of the girl getting prepared and planning for the ceremony. This includes, for many girls, their first time wearing tall high heels, getting the makeup professionally done, and wearing elaborate gowns. The transition stage is marked by the various ceremonial traditions. The ceremonial traditions include the opening of gifts, the dance between the father and daughter, reading of speeches, and blowing out candles. The incorporation stage of the Sweet Sixteen and Quinceañera is the party after all the ceremonial traditions are completed. The girl celebrates becoming a women with her friends, family, and community.

Comparison:

  • Comparison within the subgroup: The aspect of taking an more active role in the birthday is a comparable piece of folklore with the subgroup in general. In both the Sweet Sixteen and Quinceañera, the takes on more responsibility in the ceremony. For example, for a Sweet Sixteen many girls for the first time help plan out and think of the financial aspects of a party. For the Quinceañera many girls are required to make speeches and learn dances.
  • Comparison to the rest of subgroups: Many of the culturally based initiation folklore include tasks and physical activities as an aspect of the initiation rite. A comparable initiation rite to the North AmericanQuinceañera and Sweet Sixteenfrom another subgroup was the Jewish Bat Both the Quinceañera and Bat Mitzvah are rooted in religious beliefs and customs. Since, both these religious based initiation rites are common in America, customs from both are commonly borrowed in Sweet Sixteen celebrations. For example, all three force the girl to take an active role in planning and executing the ceremony. In the context of the rest of the our group, this piece of folklore is another example of a tradition that is a transition point in a person’s life.

Collector’s Name: Darien Jones,Dartmouth College, Russian 13, Professor Valentina Apresyan, Professor Mikhail Gronas, Fall 2018

Tags/Keywords:

  • Customary folklore
  • Initiation
  • Sweet Sixteen
  • Planning
  • Responsibility

North America Initiation Rituals: Sweet Sixteen Birthday Candles

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Title: North America Initiation Rituals: Sweet Sixteen Birthday Candles

General Information about Item:

  • Initiation Rituals
  • Culture: American
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: United States
  • Informant: Morgan Gelber
  • Place Collected: Dartmouth College Library, First Floor Berry
  • Date Collected: 11-2-18

Informant Data:

  • Morgan Gelber, age 20, is a female Dartmouth student in the class of 2020. She was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. Her ethnic background is half Russian and half Caucasian. She went to a small public high school in the city. At Dartmouth, Morgan is in Kappa Delta sorority and is a member of the fencing team. She is planning to major in English with a minor in Russian studies.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: Many consider America to be the “melting pot” of a diverse range of cultures. The blending of cultures is reflected in many traditions in America, including sweet sixteen. Sweet sixteen’s borrow various traditions from othercoming of age ceremonies. The two main celebrations that it borrows from are the Jewish Bat Mitzvah and the Latinx Quinceañera. ​
  • Social Context: Sweet sixteen are typically thrown by middle class toupper class families. The frequency of girls that have a sweet sixteen varies from region to region, but in generally since the celebration is quite a financial burden regions that are economically well off tend to have a higher frequency. Sweet sixteen’s are celebrated by girls in America, regardless of ethnicity.

Item:

  • The birthday candle is one of the most important traditions involved with birthdays. A common tradition to make a wish before blowing out the candles on the birthday cake. Most believe that all the candles must be blown out in one breath for good luck and the wish to come true. The blowing out of candles marks the true point when the person transitions to the next year of their lives. As a result, blowing out the candles is part of the transition stage of the three stages of initiation rites.  For sweet-sixteens this transition point also represents moving from childhood to adolescence. For this particular person’s sweet-sixteen the candles had an extra tradition associated with them. Each of the sixteen candles would represent a friend or family member who helped her get to that point in her life. For each candle she would tell a short story about what those people important in her life.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

           

Transcript:

  • Morgan: “My friend… for the candles around the cake, she calls up (people). My friend made a speech for each candle and had either one or a group of people come up for each (candle) that were significant in her life and we lit the candle together.”
  • Darien: “So a story pre-candle basically?”
  • Morgan: “Yeah, so one was like her very best friend, one was like her parents, one was like a group of four or five people. But (they were) who had helped her get to that point in life. And she blew them (the candles) out and ate the cake.”

Informant’s Comments:

  • Even though this was not her sixteenth birthday party, the story about the candles was a defining memory for her when she looks back on birthday parties she’s been to.

Collector’s Comments:

  • I found the extra tradition that was involved with the candles on her sixteenth birthday really special and meaningful. The retrospective thoughts on the people who were important in her childhood was a nice way to reflect and move on from her childhood to adolescence.

Analysis:                

  • All initiation rituals consist of three main stages: separation, transition, and incorporation. For the North American Sweet Sixteen and Quinceañera, the separation stage consists of the girl getting prepared and planning for the ceremony. This includes, for many girls, their first time wearing tall high heels, getting the makeup professionally done, and wearing elaborate gowns. The transition stage is marked by the various ceremonial traditions. The ceremonial traditions include the opening of gifts, the dance between the father and daughter, reading of speeches, and blowing out candles. The incorporation stage of the Sweet Sixteen and Quinceañera is the party after all the ceremonial traditions are completed. The girl celebrates becoming a women with her friends, family, and community.

Comparison:

  • Comparison within the subgroup: A comparable piece of folklore within the subgroup of North American initiation rites is the candles used in the Quinceañera. Both initiation rites include candles as a central symbol in the tradition. In the case of the Sweet Sixteen the candles only represent the transition from one year of life to the next. On the other hand, for the Quinceañera the lighting of the candles is in honor of the deceased relatives.
  • Comparison to the rest of subgroups: Many of the culturally based initiation folklore include tasks and physical activities as an aspect of the initiation rite. A comparable initiation rite to the North AmericanQuinceañera and Sweet Sixteenfrom another subgroup was the Jewish Bat Both the Quinceañera and Bat Mitzvah are rooted in religious beliefs and customs. Since, both these religious based initiation rites are common in America, customs from both are commonly borrowed in Sweet Sixteen celebrations. For example, all three use candles as a central tradition associated with the ceremony. In the context of the rest of the our group, this piece of folklore is another example of a tradition that is a transition point in a person’s life.

Collector’s Name: Darien Jones, Dartmouth College, Russian 13, Professor Valentina Apresyan, Professor Mikhail Gronas, Fall 2018

Tags/Keywords:

  • Customary folklore
  • Initiation
  • Sweet Sixteen
  • Candles