rites of passage
Threshold-crossing rituals
Rites of passage are ceremonies or rituals marking transitions between life stages—birth, puberty, marriage, death.
The term extends to any significant experience that transforms someone: Basic training is a rite of passage for soldiers.
Graduation, first jobs, and losing virginity are commonly called rites of passage, whether or not formal ceremonies accompany them.
Ceremony installing a sovereign
- inaugurationFormal beginning ceremony
- commencementAct of starting
- convocationFormal ceremonial gathering
- ordinationClergy appointment ceremony
investiture · consecration · enthronement · wedding · baptism · confirmation · bar mitzvah · bat mitzvah
Coming into the world
- pubertySexual development stage
- adulthoodState of being grown
- graduationCompleting academic requirements formally
- marriageFormal union between partners
parenthood · retirement · death · first job · driver's license · voting · age of majority · homeownership
Youth becoming adulthood
- vision questRite seeking supernatural guidance
- walkaboutExtended journey on foot
- quinceañeraFifteenth birthday celebration
- scarificationIntentional shallow skin cuts
circumcision · initiation · taboo · ancestor veneration · spirit journey · tribal · communal · elder
Teenage developmental stage
- maturationProcess of becoming complete
- transformationThorough change in form
- growthIncrease in size
- developmentProgress toward maturity
threshold · liminal · separation · incorporation · rebirth · metamorphosis · identity · self-discovery
Abusive initiation practices
- pledgingMaking a solemn promise
- inductionFormal admission process
- apprenticeshipLearning trade through employment
- matriculationFormal university admission process
enlistment · boot camp · fraternity · sorority · secret society · cadetship · mentorship · probation
coronation
Ceremony installing a sovereign
- inaugurationFormal beginning ceremony
- commencementAct of starting
- convocationFormal ceremonial gathering
ordination · investiture · consecration · enthronement · wedding · baptism · confirmation · bar mitzvah · bat mitzvah · quinceañera
birth
Coming into the world
- pubertySexual development stage
- adulthoodState of being grown
- graduationCompleting academic requirements formally
marriage · parenthood · retirement · death · first job · driver's license · voting · age of majority · homeownership · empty nest
coming-of-age
Youth becoming adulthood
- vision questRite seeking supernatural guidance
- walkaboutExtended journey on foot
- quinceañeraFifteenth birthday celebration
scarification · circumcision · initiation · taboo · ancestor veneration · spirit journey · tribal · communal · elder · shaman
adolescence
Teenage developmental stage
- maturationProcess of becoming complete
- transformationThorough change in form
- growthIncrease in size
development · threshold · liminal · separation · incorporation · rebirth · metamorphosis · identity · self-discovery · independence
hazing
Abusive initiation practices
- pledgingMaking a solemn promise
- inductionFormal admission process
- apprenticeshipLearning trade through employment
matriculation · enlistment · boot camp · fraternity · sorority · secret society · cadetship · mentorship · probation · ordeal
- cultural heritagefolklore, traditions, customs, folk music revival, museum collections
- culturemusic taste, beliefs, food preferences, custom, festivals
- adolescencepuberty, teenager, coming-of-age, growing up, teen
- cultural elementstraditions, heritage, customs, religions, beliefs
- cultural historyart history, music history, cultural artifacts, cultural memory, cultural movements
- cultural practicesmusic, dance, art, religion, marriage
rites of passagedaily routine
Recurring set of activities
humdrum · routine · non-events · business as usual · banality
rites of passagestagnation
Absence of flow or progress
stasis · continuity · status quo · arrested development · standing still
passage, ritual, passageway, rite, rituals, passages, rites, ritualistic, ritualize