Quinceanera Court Of Honor Analysis

In the Hispanic culture, the significance of having a quinceanera is to show a girl becoming a young lady, to thank god for all he has done and to show her off to her family and friends. It is a very religious ceremony. It is traditional for the Quinceanera to choose special friends to be apart of what is called the Court of Honor. Usually, these people are her closest friends, her brothers, sisters, cousins: The people she mostly honors. In the Quinceanera's Court of Honor all the young girls are called damas and all the young men are called Chambelanes. A quinceanera always starts off with going to church and having a mass to give thanks to god then right after a reception is held to celebrate with family and friends. In an American culture, the significance is the same to show a girl's coming of age. Even though it is not as religious as a quinceanera, a sweet sixteen is an important rite of passage that celebrates approaching adulthood and is usually celebrated with a big part. "While sweet sixteen celebrations lack the religious influence of other coming-of-age celebrations, some traditions do surface" writes Kiri Picone. As seen on TV shows like "My super sweet sixteen" a tradition of receiving a car is shown to represent having responsibilities. Unlike in a quinceanera, a sweet sixteen doesn’t really have a court of honor, well some might but its not really called anything its just a group of her closets friends to share the spotlight with. Interestingly, many families today are merging their Hispanic and America heritages by choosing to celebrate a combination of both a quinceanera and a sweet sixteen.