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Of Age
Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can be part of a ritual or spiritual event, as practiced by many societies. In the past, and in some societies today, such a change is associated with the age of sexual maturity (puberty), especially menarche and spermarche. In others, it is associated with an age of religious responsibility. Particularly in western societies, modern legal conventions which stipulate points in around the end of adolescence and the beginning of early adulthood (most commonly 18, with the range being 16-21) when adolescents are generally no longer considered minors and are granted the full rights and responsibilities of an adult) are the focus of the transition. In either case, many cultures retain ceremonies to confirm the coming of age, and coming-of-age stories ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jugendweihe
Jugendweihe (''Youth consecration'') or Jugendfeier (''Youth ceremony'') is a secular coming of age ceremony practised by German 14-year-olds. It originated among the secular societies in the 19th century as an alternative to Confirmation by the Roman Catholic and Protestant churches. It was especially widespread in East Germany, where state atheism was encouraged under the GDR. ''Jugendweihen'' and ''Jugendfeiern'' There are various different groups that organise Jugendweihes in Germany, but the most important ones are the Humanistische Verband Deutschlands ("Humanist Association of Germany"), ''Jugendweihe Deutschland e. V.'', and ''die Arbeiterwohlfahrt'' ("the Worker Welfare"). Today the term ''Jugendfeier'' is increasingly popular since the ''Humanistischer Verband'' started to use it instead of ''Jugendweihe'' in around the 1980s to mark that participants would not be consecrated but should experience an unforgettable step into adulthood. Before the ceremony the young ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |