In the community, the changes
presented at the ceremonies are symbolic.
These are the most
significant ceremonies.
At the ceremony of one, the Newchild gets a name and
is recognized for the first time as more than just a number.
For the earliest ceremony, the Naming, the Nurturers brought the newchildren to the
stage. (ch 6, p. 41)
Newchildren also get a family at
one. The family consists of a Father, Mother, and one child of each gender. The family units
only exist for child-rearing purposes, and the couple has to apply for a child and be approved
by the committee.
describes the ceremonies of Two, Three and Four as
boring. Children are not really considered significant until Three. Dream-telling began with
Threes (ch 5, p. 35) and language instruction is important at this age.
The
ceremonies of Four, Five, and Six are basically just the children aging one more year.
Fours, Fives, and Sixes all wore jackets that fastened down the back
so that they would have to help each other dress and would learn interdependence. (ch 6, p.
40)
At Seven, children get front-button jackets. This is
significant because until that point the jackets have buttoned in the back. This change is the
first sign of independence (ch 6, p. 41).
At Eight, children begin volunteer
hours, and yet another sign of growing independence.
Lily€¦ became an Eight and received the identifying jacket that she would wear this
year, this one with smaller buttons and, for the first time, pockets, indicating that she was
mature enough now to keep track of her own small belongings. (ch 6, p. 45)
At Nine, children receive one of the most coveted gifts: the
bicycle. They have been secretly taught how to ride them. The bicycle is a strong symbol of
moving away from the family unit, out into the community.
Tens get a haircut,
so the ceremony is a bit more time consuming.
[Each]
child's hair was snipped neatly into its distinguishing cut: females lost their braids at Ten,
and males, too, relinquished their long childish hair and took on the more manly short style
which exposed their ears. (p. 46)
Elevens are pretty much
just waiting to be Twelve. The females get bras and the children get clothes with special
pockets for a new calculator.
Twelve is the most significant ceremony in some
ways, because it is the last one. At Twelve children are no longer really children. They are
young adults. They no longer are designated by age, but rather by occupation. Their
occupations are chosen for them by a committee of Elders.
Lowry, Lois
(1993-04-26).(Newbery Medal Book). Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Kindle
Edition.
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