Eastern Oklahoma Catholic July/August 2010 : Page 25
C a t h o l i c c u l t u r e mong Hispanic Catholics, few events can generate the same level of enthusiasm as the celebration of a young girl’s 15th birthday. For family members, it is an opportunity to strengthen their sense of family identity, of belonging to an extended family with a shared history. And for this reason, members will travel long distances so as not to miss the festivities. For the friends of the family, the celebration of the quinceaños (quince – 15 and años – years) is an important way of expressing the core values of the Hispanic community – faith and family – with the virtues that flow from those values, especially mutual respect, commitment to the family unit and religious piety. For the girl who is celebrating her 15th birthday, the quincea-ños is an opportunity to renew the Baptismal vows that her parents and godparents spoke on her behalf when she was an infant. Proclaiming them publicly in church, the quinceañera accepts the obligation of living out these vows as carefully and completely as she can. It is this mature acceptance of the faith that marks the quinceaños celebration as the transitional mo-ment, when a young girl moves beyond her childhood to be accepted as an adult member of her family, her parish and the larger community in which she lives. Dressed as a bride, the quinceañera is accompanied at Mass by her “court,” which may include 14 girls dressed like brides-maids, or perhaps seven couples, the girls in formals and their escorts in suits, tuxedos or even the handsome short-waisted jacket typical of a Mexican vaquero. In either case, the idea is to include enough members of the quinceañera’s generation as to personalize the number 15. Surrounded by her excited court, the quinceañera receives the adulation of a queen. In fact, like a queen, the quinceañera actually receives a crown after she renews her Baptism vows. This crown, like all the gifts presented her on this happy oc-casion, symbolizes the graces received in Baptism. In this case, the tiara represents the crowning glory of heaven, which is promised us in Baptism. In this case, the gift of the crown is also a challenge to the quinceañera to live in such a way as to be judged worthy of so gracious of gift from God. This double aspect of the gift as a reminder of Baptism and a challenge to live out the fullness of the faith characterizes each of the gifts presented in turn by the godparents. While the number of gifts can vary, they generally include a crown, a Bible with a rosary entwined in it, a medal of Our Lady, a ring, either a watch or a bracelet and earrings. This often can be a confusing point for non-Hispanic Catho-lics, who think of godparents only in terms of the reception of the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation. In the Hispanic Catholic community, godparents (who may or may not be the same as the Baptismal sponsors) are invited to participate in the celebration of First Communion and are present en masse for the quinceaños ceremony. It is not unusual for there to be seven or eight pairs of godparents, all of whom enter into a close and permanent relationship with their goddaughter, as well as with her parents. By inviting couples to become the godparents of the ring or the crown, the parents of the quinceañera invite non-family members into the bosom of the family and link themselves in an ever-widening network of commitment and mutual aid. This is one of the enormous strengths of the Hispanic Catholic community. No one is ever alone or without the support of a large family and an equally large network of friends who are more than friends, because they have served as godparents at a Baptism or a quinceaños. Since the quinceañera is embarking on her life as an adult, she traditionally places the primary and most critical task that she has as an adult – the recognition that God has given her a unique vocation which she must discover and follow – in the hands of Our Blessed Lady. Accompanied by the dama de honor, the quinceañera presents Our Lady with a bouquet of roses, usu-ally bright red, but occasionally a more subdued pink. Kneel-ing before her image, she asks the Mother of God to help her discover what calling God has planned for her, and if it is to be marriage, especially to help her find the right husband-to-be. How rich, then, in symbolism and meaning is the celebration of a young girl’s 15th birthday. And how much non-Hispanic Catholics might emulate these religious customs and adapt them for our English-speaking girls when they turn “Sweet 16.” Family and friends gather and Father David Medina officiates at the quinceañosfor Stephanie Vasquez.
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