Holidays and Events

Posts Tagged ‘initiation’

According to Jewish law, when Jewish children reach the age of majority (generally thirteen years for boys and twelve for girls) they become responsible for their actions, and become a Bar or Bat Mitzvah.

The terms are also commonly used to refer to the ceremony celebrating this coming of age.

There is a common misconception that the Bar Mitzvah ceremony causes a change in status from youth to adulthood. The rights and responsibilities vest solely because of age, and thus, the change happens on the child’s birthday. The Bar Mitzvah ceremony is typically an ordinary Sabbath service in which the boy or girl participates for the first time as an adult.

Confirmation is in many Christian Churches a rite of initiation normally by laying on of hands and/or anointing for the purpose of bestowing the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. In some denominations, confirmation bestows full membership in the church upon the recipient. In others, such as the Roman Catholic Church, confirmation “renders the bond with the Church more perfect”, but a baptized person is already a full member.

Another celebration known as “Confirmation” is used in Reform and Conservative Jewish synagogues as a rite of passage for young Jewish men and woman around the age of 16.